Hope for All fundraiser a first for community

HOPE — It was the fundraiser that almost failed to upload, making the Hope For All: COVID-19 Relief Fund event a first for Hope and Hempstead County as much as it was a child of the digital age.

The entertainment event was designed to function much like a telethon from 7 to 9 p.m., May 21, from its control center at Hempstead Hall on the University of ArkansasHope campus.

Co-organizer Paul Henley, chairman of Hope In Action, said Friday the group has met its goal.

“That pretty well put us at our goal of $25,000,” Henley said of the video concert. “Today was the first day Hope For All applications are available; and, we have had some come in already.”

Some 375 devices logged on to the YouTube video during the broadcast through SWARK.today.

The live-streamed video started on time, said Hempstead Hall Director Amanda Lance said. But there were trials.

“In the days leading up to the premiere, several unforeseen complications meant the production team had to preview the video late Wednesday night for the first time,” Lance said. “That meant the day of the event we were quickly making those changes and then playing the waiting game while the final video rendered.”

That’s when they hit a glitch in the final moments of the three-hour rendering process, she said.

“The video had exported 93 percent of the way,” Lance said. “I had been watching it export for almost three hours at that point, and to get an error message was just … frustrating.”

The Hempstead Hall crew re-started the export process, which was completed, then transferred to SWARK.today, a Hope-based website — 45 minutes before it was to go live at 7 p.m.

“It was down to the wire, but it all came together,” Lance said. “While it certainly had its challenges, I could not be any prouder of the event.”

The musical line-up for the evening included: Arnetta Bradford, Mae Estes, South Down Main, Jennifer Wright, The SWActors, Brady Rhodes, Jimmy Daniels, Jennifer Wright, Daulton Brewer, Wyatt Putman, and Ginger Stockslager.

Hope City Manager Catherine Cook, a co-organizer, said contributions have been steady since the organization formed to provide supplemental financial assistance to Hope and Hempstead County residents directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

“We will continue to try and help the community until we see the other side of the current trouble,” she said.

HOPE for All is intended to provide supplemental food, funds for utilities, funds for housing and funds for transportation during the COVID19 pandemic, and is being administered in collaboration with Hope In Action. Applications are available at the Hope In Action office and the Hope/Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce office.

Donations may be mailed to Hope in Action, 606 W. Third St., Hope, Ar., 71801, or can be made directly to HOPE for All: COVID-19 Relief Fund at Farmer’s Bank, 201 E. Third St., or by mail to Farmer’s Bank at P.O. Box 520, Hope, Ar., 71802-0520. For information on donation account designation or other questions, please contact Catherine Cook at 870-7039811 or Hope In Action at 777-8227 during business hours.

You can view the fundraiser video online at swark.today/hope-for-allvirtually-together-live-at-700pm/ .