The Hope Award final five

Basketball has its final four, and WORLD’s Hope Award for Effective Compassion now has a final five for 2013: East, Midwest, South, and West regional winners, plus an International finalist. Last year our final five came from Maine, Minnesota, Texas, Wyoming, and Ghana. This year the winners are from New York, Illinois, Georgia, California, and Haiti.

Four of the five will receive checks for $4,000. One will receive a $25,000 check. Which ministry will it be? That depends on you. We encourage you to visit our Hope Award page, learn about the ministries, and then vote for the one that impresses you the most. Voting starts today and continues through Oct. 31: One vote per person, please. Whichever ministry gets the most votes will receive a grand prize check at a Washington, D.C., reception on Nov. 13.

If you’re curious as to how we found the regional winners: Our readers nominated groups from their areas, our staffers researched them initially by internet and phone, and our reporters eyeballed the most interesting. We hope you’ll vote and also get ideas about what you can start or develop in your own community. We hope you’ll get a sense of how God is using His people: To Him be the glory. And if you’d like to nominate ministries for the 2014 Hope Award, please email June McGraw (jmcgraw@wng.org) the group’s name and a brief description (a paragraph will do) of what it does.