Lynda Sargent fought back tears Wednesday after receiving a check for $20,000 to support her nonprofit, Heart of Hope Ministries.
The check was presented by Royal Neighbors of America, a Rock Island-based organization with more than 100 years of history in the city. Sargent said the money will be used for a number of things, with the organization’s top expense being food.
“We’re having to pay more than ever before,” she said. “With that $20,000, you’re putting food into the mouths of people that are really in need. Almost everyday we have people walk through that door for emergency food.”
Being able to give back to the community around her is what Heart of Hope was built on. Sargent started the organization in 2009 after receiving a divine message, she said, that she needed to help those in need.
“There was a time in my life where I had to go through a food pantry, too,” she said. “I remember how hard it is, so I just want everybody that walks through that door to feel and experience the love of God and to know they’re accepted, that they’re not going to be judged, and that this is a place that cares.”
Started in Rock Island’s West End, the organization has grown into a food pantry, clothing ministry, afterschool programs and a resource library. Recently Heart of Hope expanded its reach to help formerly incarcerated people get back on their feet after reentry.
It’s that outreach, passion and leadership that sets Heart of Hope apart, Rock Island Mayor Ashley Harris said. His purpose at Wednesday’s event wasn’t to preach, but to speak on blessings.
“And this lady to my right, she is highly anointed,” he said. “This grant money, her mission, her service, all the people that are helping her with this, they’re just not out here helping the vulnerable population. They’re just not out here helping youth. They’re just not out here helping incarcerated individuals returning back to society. She helps everybody: leaders from the top to the bottom and back up again.”
Harris said that’s something only the grace of God can instill in a person and having her work in Rock Island is a blessing for the community as a whole.
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