JACKSONVILLE, FL –
Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.

Jacksonville, FL - Bill Cellar is bringing hope to Jacksonville. HOPE International, that is. The President and CEO of Providence Homes is the first builder on the First Coast to pledge the profits from the sale of one custom home to this nonprofit organization.

HOPE International is a faith-based group that serves the poor in developing countries by providing them with micro-loans. Most of the loans, generally $100 - $500, are used to help people in third world nations, usually women with children who have been widowed or abandoned by war or devastation, start businesses and begin to rebuild their lives. Examples include selling shoes or vegetables in an open market or purchasing sheep or pigs for livestock.

"I felt immediately drawn to this project because HOPE gives people a hand-up, not a hand-out," said Cellar. "It helps these poor families support themselves, so they don't have to wait for the next time a charity comes through giving a food donation or a small amount of money." During a past visit to the former Soviet Union, [one of the main areas HOPE works in], Cellar witnessed first hand people living on the streets with only one bottle of Pepsi or one can of beans to sell. The economic devastation was overwhelming and it compelled him to do something to help. The micro-loans help end poverty because they provide for a sustained source of income.

Nearly all HOPE loans are repaid, averaging a 97% repayment rate. That means the same $500 loan that helped one family out of poverty this year will help another family next year and then another family the following year and so on. It's this principle that makes the "House for HOPE" program so successful, long after the "House for HOPE" has been sold.

The Providence Homes¹ "House for HOPE" will be built in River Hills Reserve at Fleming Island in Clay County. Construction on this 3,000 square foot home is slated to begin in July and will take six to eight months to
complete. The sale of this $350,000 home will help more than 700 families build their own businesses each year. Bill Cellar held a luncheon recently at The Marriott at Southpoint to present the Hope project and to recruit supplies and volunteers. All vendors and subcontractors involved in the construction of the Hope house donate time, materials and talent to keep the actual cost of the home as low as possible. Upon completion, the home is sold and the profits are donated to Hope International. To date, HOPE International has issued approximately $3 million in micro-loans.

In addition to helping individuals and families with micro-loans, HOPE also starts Bible clubs and summer camps for thousands of children in these impoverished nations. For more information about HOPE International call 1-877-982-HOPE. For more information about Providence Homes and its "House for HOPE", call Bill Cellar at 262-9898.