Hope

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines hope as ‘to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true’. A recent email we received from Thankyou (an Australian social enterprise) unpacked the idea that they don’t consider hope a ‘soft’ word, but rather something they hold onto like their life depends on it.

Thankyou was established with an end in mind. They believed they could help end global poverty by giving 100% of the profits from their range of products to life-changing projects that would help people in need. To date, Thankyou has raised more than $17 million that has gone towards serving the world’s poor.

Not willing to rest on their laurels, however, Thankyou launched an audacious idea they titled ‘No Small Plan’ as they sought to increase their impact. The plan was to invite some of the world’s biggest companies to flip ‘business as usual’ and create a partnership with Thankyou that would ‘play to both organisations’ strengths, result in positive commercial outcomes for both parties and ultimately help (them) reach (their) mission quicker.’

Enter the global effects of COVID.

Not only did their mission of helping to end extreme poverty go from bad to worse as the hardships of those in need increased exponentially, but their No Small Plan took more twists and turns than they’d ever thought possible. Their recent email set out to not only provide an update on their progress but also to encourage each reader in their own life’s pursuits.

They reminded us that whilst the twists on our path aren’t always what we expect, we must always look for hope.

In a world where our sense of uncertainty has been prolonged far beyond what we’d ever imagined and our progress may not be as linear as it once was, hope is what will keep us solid in our direction, even if, like Thankyou, we have to learn to relax our timelines along the way!

Thankyou’s email arrived around the time many will be celebrating the spiritual significance of Easter – the death and resurrection of Christ. Easter weekend is a constant reminder for Christians the world over that there is meaning to life and as a result we can look ahead with certain hope.

Whether you’re celebrating Easter from a spiritual or cultural perspective, our desire is that your hope for the goals and dreams set before you are renewed and that no matter the twists and turns along the way, you’ll hold tight to that which you want to see come to pass.