Enacting change, inspiring hope | Annual Day of H.O.P.E. returns to Orlando
Youth and community partners will gather at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida Levy-Hughes Clubhouse on Thursday, May 14, for the free annual event centered around mentorship, education and entertainment.
HOPE THAT’S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT. A MOVEMENT TO BUILD UP LOCAL YOUTH IS CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF CHANGE MAKING. SO THE MISSION STEMS FROM A LOCAL BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB AND BRANCHES INTO ACTIONABLE WORK AND A RIPPLE EFFECT OF JOY IN THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD AND THROUGHOUT CENTRAL FLORIDA. JOINING ME NOW WITH YOUR INVITATION TO THE DAY OF HOPE IS UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA PROFESSOR DOCTOR L TRENTON S MARSH AND ALSO THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, LEVI HUGHES BRANCH SHY SURPRISE. TRENTON. SHY. WELCOME. THANK YOU. TODAY. OKAY, SO FIRST OFF, WE’RE GOING TO GET TO EXACTLY WHAT THE DAY OF HOPE IS IN A SECOND. BUT FIRST, SHY, FILL ME IN ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. MY NAME IS SURPRISE. I GO BY SHY, SURPRISE LIKE SURPRISE PARTY. OKAY, I’M A PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT THE LEVI HUGHES CLUBHOUSE. AND MY MY ROLE ESSENTIALLY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT PROGRAMING IS HAPPENING. OKAY. YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THE STAFF ARE OKAY, THE KIDS ARE SAFE AND THEY’RE HAVING FUN AND THEY’RE LEARNING AND GROWING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE’RE HITTING ALL THE KEY POINTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS. EXCELLENT. OKAY, SO TRENTON, FILL ME IN. SO HOW DO YOU AND I WORK TOGETHER WITH THIS DAY OF HOPE? AND WHAT EXACTLY IS IT ALL? SURE, SURE. SO I ACTUALLY BECAME A FAMILIAR WITH THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, SPECIFICALLY LEE HUGHES IN 2019, WHEN I CAME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. AND AT THE TIME WE WERE WORKING ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE CLUBHOUSE, SPECIFICALLY WORKING AROUND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING. AND WE’RE ASKING STUDENTS AT THAT TIME LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY? YOU BRING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY NOW THAT YOU’RE IN HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF? OH, OKAY. AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS. AND THEN COVID 19 HAPPENED, RIGHT? WE HAD TO LEAVE THE CLUBHOUSE, BUT SHY AND I AND DIRECTOR TASHA, WHO’S THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF THAT CLUBHOUSE, WE CONTINUED TO REMAIN IN CONTACT. OKAY. AND THEN THERE WAS AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED IN 2022 WHERE A YOUNG MAN WAS ACTUALLY WAS KILLED. AND SO DIRECTOR TASHA ASKED ME, COULD I JUST COME INTO THE CLUBHOUSE, HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH HER YOUNG MEN? AT THE TIME, I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE A FEW DOCTORAL STUDENTS WHO ARE CLINICALLY TRAINED SOCIAL WORKERS, AND WE CAME INTO THE CLUBHOUSE. GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE STUDENTS, GREAT CONVERSATIONS. AND IN THAT MOMENT, A YOUNG MAN PULLED ME TO THE SIDE. HE SAYS, HEY, DOCTOR T, THERE’S HOPE HERE. I SAID, EXCUSE ME. HE SAID, THERE’S HOPE. THERE’S HOPE IN THIS ROOM. AND SO MYSELF, MY, MY DOCTORAL STUDENTS, WE HAD A CONVERSATION. I WAS LIKE, WHAT DID I THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THIS WORD HOPE. AND SO WE CONVERTED IT INTO AN ACRONYM, STANDING FOR HEALING OASIS FOR PEACE AND EMPOWERMENT. SO WE’VE BEEN MEETING WEEKLY WITH YOUNG MEN AT THE CLUBHOUSE FOR FIVE YEARS. AT THIS POINT, DIRECTOR TASHA, DIRECTOR SHY. WE’VE ALL BEEN IN CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE AND EMPOWER OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO, TO GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AMPLIFYING THEIR VOICES ABOUT CONCERNS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM, AND THEN LAUNCH DAY OF HOPE. IS THAT RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. SO THIS IS THE FIFTH YEAR THAT IT’S GOING ON. SO WHEN ALL THAT HAPPENED, THAT CONVERSATION REALLY STEMMED THIS DAY OF HOPE. ABSOLUTELY. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WERE SAYING LIKE, WELL, WELL, WE SAID, WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? YEAH. AND THEY SAID, WE WANT TO MEMORIALIZE OUR NOT, NOT, NOT THEIR, THEIR WORDS, BUT LIKE, WE WANT TO MEMORIALIZE OUR FALLEN FRIEND. AND SO THE FIRST YEAR WE AND GIRLS CLUB TO LAKE EOLA, AND WE HAD A PETITION OF SORTS, OUR CONVERSATION TO THE PUBLIC TO SAY, HEY, YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AGAINST YOUTH GUN VIOLENCE. WE HAD ERIC SMITH AT THE TIME. HE WAS THE INCOMING CHIEF OF POLICE. HE WAS THE GRAND MARSHAL OF THAT PARADE. A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME TO US AND JUST JUST LISTENING TO THE YOUNG MEN’S EXPRESSIONS AROUND YOUTH GUN VIOLENCE. AND SINCE THAT TIME, WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN HIGHLIGHTING THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM. SO THIS YEAR, THE FOCUS IS ON UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS. SPECIFICALLY THE YOUNG MEN THAT WE WANT TO FOCUS ON HOMELESSNESS. SO THE DAY OF HOPE. BUT AT THE DAY OF HOPE, WE HAVE, OKAY, THERE’S GOING TO BE AN UNVEILING OF A PETITION SPECIFICALLY PENNED BY THE YOUNG PEOPLE AND AROUND WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND HIGHLIGHT THIS IDEA THAT THERE’S THERE’S A BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF ORLANDO, BUT WHAT COULD WE DO DIFFERENTLY FOR THAT BUDGET FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS? OKAY. AND SO WILL YOU PRESENT THAT THEN THAT’S GOING TO BE PRESENTED? YEAH. OKAY. EXCELLENT. SO FOR THIS DAY OF HOPE, THEN TOMORROW, WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR THIS, WHAT ELSE CAN THEY EXPECT? ABSOLUTELY. SO, SO THIS, THIS DAY IS REALLY GOING TO BE HIGHLIGHTING THE THINGS THAT THEY’VE LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. WE OPENED UP THE YEAR WITH THIS IDEA OF IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF, YOU CAN LOVE OTHERS, RIGHT? SO THE FOCUSING ON THE LOVE ASPECT, IF YOU, IF YOU ARE EMPOWERING YOURSELF, YOU CAN EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNITY. SO THOSE THINGS, THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THOSE SORTS OF THEMES ARE GOING TO BE SHARED BY THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE AUDIENCE. WE WILL HAVE A COMMISSIONER ROSE COME BY WHO WE’LL BE HEARING FROM THE PETITION, THE POINTS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MAKING. AND HER RESPONSE? THE CHIEF OF POLICE WILL ALSO BE GIVING HIS RESPONSES. THE WHOLE EVENT, WHICH IS REALLY BEAUTIFUL ABOUT THE DAY OF HOPE, BECAUSE EVERYTHING THAT WE ENGAGE ON THAT DAY FROM FROM THE PULPIT, IF YOU WILL, THERE’S A THERE’S VENDORS ACROSS THE JIM PROMOTING AND SHARING THAT INFORMATION. SO WE’RE GOING TO HAVE VENDORS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA REGION THAT’S FOCUSED ON HOUSING AND NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION, WORKFORCE EMPOWERMENT, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT. AND LASTLY, WHERE DOES THIS TAKE PLACE AND WHAT’S THE TIME THIS IS HAPPENING AT THE LEVY YOUTH CLUBHOUSE AT AT 712 WEST AMY LU STREET, 430 TO 7 P.M. OKAY, SO EVERYTHING HAPPENING TOMORROW? TOMORROW. OKAY. AND IS THIS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC? SO, SO SO IT’S FREE. OKAY. IT’S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AS PARTNERS OF THE YOUTH CLUBHOUSE. WE TYPICALLY GET ABOUT 350 YOUNG PEOPLE, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO ARE THERE TO JUST SUPPORT THE MISSION BEHIND WE, OUR HOPE CIRCLE AND THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. EXCELLENT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON TODAY AND SPREADING THE WORD. AND IT SOUNDS
Enacting change, inspiring hope | Annual Day of H.O.P.E. returns to Orlando
Youth and community partners will gather at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida Levy-Hughes Clubhouse on Thursday, May 14, for the free annual event centered around mentorship, education and entertainment.
Updated: 9:47 AM EDT May 13, 2026
The fifth annual Day of H.O.P.E. and Positive Influence Block Party returns to Orlando’s historic Parramore neighborhood on Thursday, May 14.Organizers join WESH 2 to preview the event, discuss students’ achievements and the event theme: Valuing People, Understanding Policy, and Reducing Poverty.University of Central Florida associate professor and Healing Oasis for Peace and Empowerment (H.O.P.E.) Circle initiative founder, L. Trenton S. Marsh, Ph.D., highlighted the focus on community-level policy.Marsh is joined by Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida Levy-Hughes Clubhouse program director, Shai Surprise, to describe how the center’s day-to-day programming ties to the event.Following a youth proposal, testimonials and honors, there will be a block including free food, activities, live music, and community organizations. Click here to learn more about the event.For more information about H.O.P.E. Circle, click here. >> Watch the full interview in the video player above.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The fifth annual Day of H.O.P.E. and Positive Influence Block Party returns to Orlando’s historic Parramore neighborhood on Thursday, May 14.
Organizers join WESH 2 to preview the event, discuss students’ achievements and the event theme: Valuing People, Understanding Policy, and Reducing Poverty.
University of Central Florida associate professor and Healing Oasis for Peace and Empowerment (H.O.P.E.) Circle initiative founder, L. Trenton S. Marsh, Ph.D., highlighted the focus on community-level policy.
Marsh is joined by Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida Levy-Hughes Clubhouse program director, Shai Surprise, to describe how the center’s day-to-day programming ties to the event.
Following a youth proposal, testimonials and honors, there will be a block including free food, activities, live music, and community organizations.
Click here to learn more.
>> Watch the full interview in the video player above.