Oasis of Hope is a non-profit, community-based Christian organization that encourages life-on-life relationships that connect people across racial and socioeconomic boundaries. Our mission is to demonstrate Christ’s love to an under-resourced community in Memphis by elevating and improving the quality of neighborhood life through empowerment and partnerships.
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Our Website Is Changing ... Watch Here For the New Reveal Soon!

In order to continue to provide you with the most updated information, in the most current format, we have been over-hauling our entire website for the past month to be as socially friendly as possible!  Our volunteer community is what MAKES Oasis of Hope happen and we are always striving to get information to you quickly and easily.  Please bear with us as we put the finishing touches on our new site!

Pray Terrian Bass Through the X-Factor Auditions!

Terrian Bass, one of our Read 2 Succeed participants, won the local X-Factor competition and was flown to Los Angeles to perform in front of the casting directors.  She made it through to the final round of the audition process & the next step is to perform in front of Simon, LA Reid, and the other celebrity judges.  She needs our prayers as she continues through this exciting but scary process!  No matter what happens, she will always be a STAR to us!

Oasis Teaches Residents About the Effects of Poverty

Oasis of Hope has started the “Getting Ahead in A Just Getting by World” course.  These classes derived from Dr. Ruby Payne’s Bridges out of Poverty materials, are designed to help participants examine the effects of poverty on their lives and in their community. It also provides information about how to use their current resources to go the next level in life. We have 13 participants from the neighborhood, who are excited about the new things they are learning and looking forward to applying it to their lives.  Topics include:  How to build economic stability for your family, How to set personal goals and successfully achieve them, and How to make small positive changes that will have a big impact.

Walk the Path of the Civil Rights Movement June 1-3

The Justice Tour is an incredible opportunitity to travel as a group along the historical path in civil rights history through Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham.  Some of the stops along the way will be the Edmund Pettus Bridge, (the site of Bloody Sunday, March 7,1965 – the peaceful march for voting rights where the marchers were confronted with tear gas, beaten with billy clubs and ultimately over 50 were hospitalized. This was the first of 3 marches). Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the Civil Rights Memorial, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (which was bombed in September of 1963, resulting in the death of 4 young girls), attend services at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and more. This is an informative tour about the struggle for equal rights, but also packed with fun as we fellowship and make friends with a lot of Hope members we never knew before! Your transportation, snacks, most meals, hotel accommodations (based on double occupancy), and tour fees are covered by the $225 fee; ($325 fee for non Hope members). For more information, contact Di.

Sponsor a Kid To Attend Summer Camp for $200

How does going to a Christian summer camp change a kid’s life?  For most children, camp is a place where they can get away from the ordinary and be part of something new.  For our Oasis youth, it is that … and so much more! It’s tough being a kid today – especially if you’re growing up in North Memphis – and the idleness of summertime makes it even more difficult.  Many of these kids spend much of their summer isolated and indoors.  They miss the life lessons one can learn by going to camp, not just about nature and the outdoors, but about the greatest adventure of all – learning about a God-centered life. This summer we hope to take 35 young people in all, ranging in age from 9 to 18, to two different camps.  For some of the kids who have gone with us before, like Marquisha, Kevin, and Treveon, going to camp is something they look forward to ALL year long.  For others, like Montegus, Derrick, and Mykah, this summer will be their first Christian camp experience, and their first time traveling away from home!  Our prayer is that all of these kids will not only have a memorable and fun-filled time, but will also learn to know and love Jesus in the process! Would you consider sponsoring one of these young people?  $200 will cover the camp registration for a child, and also help cover the cost of transportation and supplies.  It’s easy to donate online or you can send a check to Oasis of Hope and write 'summer camp' in the memo. Please mail your donation to:  Oasis of Hope, 8500 Walnut Grove Road, Cordova, TN 38018.

Yep ... It's Almost VBS Time!

You have never experienced VBS like this before!  Mark your calendars for the inner city Oasis of Hope Vacation Bible School June 18^th- June 20^th   (Mon.- Wed.) from 5-7:30pm.  We need lots of volunteers to help out with Bible study, arts & crafts, and recreational activities.  We will end the VBS with our 1^st annual Bike and Outdoor Club event on Thursday June 21^st from 2 to 7 pm.  We will be taking the VBS kids to Shelby Farms Park for bike riding, paddleboats, kayaks on the lake, etc.  Come and join us for a week of spiritual development, and fun in the sun!  Contact Terrice Thomas for more information and to volunteer,  or call her at 527-0074.

Oasis Appliance Needs Volunteers & Inventory!

Our used appliance store located at 1294 N. Thomas needs your help with two critical needs, Volunteers and Inventory! First, we need volunteers with trucks that are willing to pick up donated appliances.  Secondly, our inventory is getting low because our store has proven to fill a big need in the neighborhood and we need more appliances!  If you have an appliance you would like to donate, or are interested in volunteering in the store, please email Terrice or call her at 527-0074.

Job Preparedness Program 'Jobs for Life' Has Concluded

Oasis of Hope recently became a “Jobs for Life” (JFL) training site making it the 2nd in Memphis! JFL is a national, Christian based, non-profit that created a thorough curriculum which provides an 8-week, 16-session training program to prepare young, unemployed men and women to enter the workforce. The program is targeted to individuals who are struggling to position themselves successfully in the workplace due to issues surrounding their lives (unfinished High School, no GED, criminal records, previous poor work histories, etc.).  The pilot session was a success!  It included 3 businessmen mentors and 2 students.   At the completion of the program, Jerry and Rodrekus were placed into a “live interview” process with a selected local business owner.  They had worked diligently on new resumes and interviewing techniques, and although very nervous, courageously faced the challenge and performed wonderfully.  They both will be starting work at Downtown Storage soon!  Oasis plans to expand JFL to 10-12 students in this July-August. Men and women volunteers are needed for the summer session as mentors and instructor trainees, as well as business to partner with the students. For more information, please contact Terry Hoff.

New Preschool Opening in Our Ministry Neighborhood!

We are excited to learn that a new preschool is opening up across the street from The Green House in the old Caldwell Elementary School building!  We look forward to building relationships with the new students and their families as well as having a place to refer families we work with who have young children! 

Upper Deck - Batter Up!

Congratulations to the Manassas Varsity Baseball Team!  These young men and their coaches have placed Manassas High School Baseball back in the standings as they played their final game of the season in their first post-season playoff game in over 30 years!  Thank you to all supporters, fans and volunteer coaches who came out to support the team!  We are very proud of the hard work and team spirit these players have demonstrated this ball season!  WAY TO GO MANASSAS BASEBALL!

Young Women's Ministry Goes Road Trippin'

 For the first time, a group of seven young women attended Hope’s Girls Getaway Weekend at Pickwick Lake.  It was a coordination miracle considering the 13 children that needed babysitters, jobs that needed to give time off, and homework for school that had to be put on hold!  The girls manned an Oasis table recruiting mentors and took orders for Sweet-Shirts.  It was an untouchable time of bonding and spiritual growth.  The Women’s Ministry went all out in welcoming our women and making them feel included and special.  It was easily a mountain top experience for them as could be seen as they drove back into Memphis … back into reality … and back into the heaviness that is their lives.  What a gift this spiritual escape was for them in many ways.

Our Tax Prep Volunteers Have Saved Residents over $1.8 Million!

2012 Tax Season is in the books and it was another outstanding year of helping and sharing God's love with those less fortunate for the Oasis of Hope tax site at the Bickford Community Center. For the year our team prepared 145 returns, up 7% from the previous year, while helping put $325,000 in refunds and savings from free filing back in the pockets of the Caldwell community, up 9% from 2011. What made it such a great year is that due to the challenges in the economy several of our volunteers could not get out of work committements to help in 2012. As a result we did the increased business with 265 manhours, down 20% from 2011, with a steady team of 9 dedicated volunteers. Since opening 7 years ago we have prepared close to 1150 returns and saved our fellow citizens thousands of dollars in preparation cost while putting over $1.8 million in savings and refunds back in the economy.

Work Has Begun on Bearwater Park Infrastructure!

MAY Update: Sewers and curbs are now installed!  Affordable, quality housing is nearly non-existent in the inner city.  As a ministry that wants to show how much we care for not only a person's spiritual needs, but also their physical needs, we are thrilled to have received a grant to assist us in building 10 new homes in Phase One - 51 homes overall - and impacting hundreds of lives. The engineering and housing plans are now complete and have been approved by the city. We have selected a construction company for the infrastructure work on the site, and work has begun!  We anticipate Phase One to cost around $2.1 million with our responsibility to raise approximately an additional $350,000 in gap funding to accomplish this major goal.  The development will bring quality housing at very affordable rents to families in our community, which is a dire need.  You can help be a part of the solution to this problem.  If you would like to give to this outreach, you can donate online or write checks to Oasis of Hope, Inc. and put Bearwater Park in the memo.  Click here or click the site plan graphic to view the property!  For ongoing details on this project view the Bearwater Park web page.  In addition, this past year, Oasis of Hope received a grant from the State of TN to rehab four homes in the community.  We have completed these homes and have 3 more families blessed with a quality, affordable place to live in the neighborhood!  The fourth house is being used by Hope's Urban ministry as a transitional house for the homeless to get back on their feet.

Do You Ever Wonder What the RESULTS are of Our Ministry Efforts?

Yes, it's hard to measure the impact that we are having on a community, and especially on the lives of people who are affected by what we do, but, in an effort to share exactly this, we have put together a 'Results' page identifying quantifiable, measureable outcomes from our humble and sincere efforts to be making a difference.