
Meet The Team

Founder & Executive Director
Jeannie Simala Gawronski
Jeannie started HOPE 4 Kids in 2013 to provide help and encouragement to working families who were struggling. By 2017 it became more apparent that the most underserved members of our community where families in danger of losing their children to foster care due to poverty. HOPE 4 Kids started focusing on the needs of those children and families as well as children already in the foster care system.

Executive Board President
Denise Williams
Denise is an excellent leader and makes things happen. Her desire to serve where ever it is needed and her organizational abilities are invaluable to the ever changing needs of the families that we serve.
Denise also makes an excellent summer camp counselor to assist with the 100+ children that go to camp each summer.

Executive Board Vice President
Mary A. Price
Mary Price has served at HOPE 4 Kids since the beginning in February 2013. Mary brings excellent business skills to all that happens at HOPE and is a continued support willing to try new ideas. She also has a tremendous heart to serve - always helping where ever it is needed. The excellent design and staging of the resale store are all done by her gifting.
Mary serves as a key support in our HOPE 4 Kids Summer and Winter camp program.

Executive Board Secretary
Christine Jacobs
Christine married her high school sweetheart 28 years ago and they have raised 3 great children. Both Christine and Rick always knew they wanted to be involved in foster care, even when they were dating. To date they have adopted 3 children and continue to be a foster home, having cared for 31 children.
Christine also brings great skills and experience to the HOPE 4 Kids team as we are looking for new ways to best serve SWFL families.

Executive Board
Janet Coss
Janet has served the SWFL community for over 30 years as a teacher in the Lee County School System. She has a great heart and desire to see people succeed and families stay together. Janet knows first hand the struggles our local children face and adds valuable insight into how best serve local families.

ReSale Store Manager
Samantha McMullen
Samantha is the smiling face you are greeted with when you enter the resale store. She is a fantastic single mother of 6 beautiful children and knows first hand the struggles of raising a family.
She shares one amazing story after another to our customers of how your support at the HOPE CO ReSale Store is changing lives in Southwest Florida.

ReSale Store Organizer of Chaos
MaryEllen Smith
We truly could not function without MaryEllen's organizational abilities. She is the smiling and caring face at the back door donation drop off area. For our team we are most thankful that she keeps the chaos in fantastic order, but even more importantly is her heart to genuinely care about the customers and each person that donates at the back door.
Although she has enough work to keep 12 people busy she always stops to take the time to ask if you are okay, is there anything you need, or anyway we can pray for you.

ReSale Store Furniture and Online Manager
Lacey Opper
Lacey oversees all of the furniture donations and sales, as well as the online store for HOPE. She is a very hard worker, quick learner and is a huge asset to our team.
Lacey is also a huge supporter of helping families and seeing that children are in the best possible situations.
Lacey also loves to chaperone for Winter and Summer camp and has a blast taking tons of pictures of the kids in camp action, as well as enjoying all the camp fun! The kids LOVE having her join them at camp.
The AMAZING HOPE Volunteer Team
These ladies, and occasional gentlemen, are a constant daily JOY at the HOPE CO ReSale Store. They are responsible for the beautiful displays and the great items at fantastic prices in the store. We are proud of how wonderful our store always looks - and smells - because of their hard work. They have an incredible dedication to making sure the families we serve are served with excellence.
They are also ALOT of fun to be around!











Join the Volunteer Team.
Serve 1 day a week for 3 hours.
Call Mary Ellen at 239-789-1145
