Cindy Bray founded Hope Services after seeing her daughter’s challenge in finding a job as a teenager.
“We understood and learned that it was a challenge to go through the system and understand what is the future for Danica,” Bray said. “And so, we felt like other parents probably had the same challenges.”
Hope Services helps people living with disabilities and other challenges a positive future through job training and programs.
The company, which was founded in 2003, now has 22 employees and serves 10 different counties, including Hillsborough.
Hope Services works with the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to make its programs accessible to the workers who need help.
Scholarships are available to students who do not qualify with a disability for free programs so Hope Services can reach as many people as possible.
Bray and her team opened the Hope Services Life Skills & Vocational Training Center in Land O’ Lakes, which was a dream come true.
The center, which opened in February 2023, offers hands-on life skills services. Students can get specialized training for culinary, construction, retail and hospitality fields to help them land a job.
Bray said the center has smaller class sizes while offering a similar curriculum to what students would get at a college or university. This more individualized approach allows students to get the specific help they need.
“With us having a class of six, most likely all six are going to succeed,” Bray said.
Hope Services offers on-the-job training, mental health counseling and preplacement guidance, such as resume advice.
The goal of Hope Services is to get every student through the door and out the door successfully.
The organization has partnerships with several major companies and local partners, including Publix and Chick-fil-A.
Bray added that the organization cares, helps and gives hope.
“We don’t want to turn down anybody that wants an opportunity to better their lives to give them a positive future,” she said.
Volunteers or local businesses who want to partner with local businesses to help them achieve this goal can reach out to community liaison Charlene Dodge at 813-897-3244 or cdodge@hopegetsjobs.org.
