Hope’s on the Way began as a response to the needs of people in the New Orleans area after the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina hit the southern region of Louisiana and Alabama late August of 2005 that wreaked havoc for more than a week.

The Carmelites who have their headquarters in suburban Chicago had mission posts in that region which were damaged and the Chicago Diaconate responded by recruiting volunteers among deacons and the lay community to rebuild a school, monastery and homes in the New Orleans area over the next 3 years. This work continued in other parts of Louisiana, New Jersey, Alabama, Mississippi and Illinois. The group took on the name of Hope’s on the Way and patterned itself after second response organizations supported by the Mennonites, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and other Christian denominations.

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We have found our work to be truly ecumenical. Dietrich Bonhoefer, writing in the 1930s, observed that ecumenism will only be successful when Christian denominations work together. As we have sat down to break bread with brothers and sisters of other denominations, we have found a unity in realizing that we are all serving the people of God in this work. This work breaks down barriers that have separated Christians of different persuasions but a common belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

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This ministry was expanded to the Buckets of Hope ministry engaged in by many other Christian denominations. To date, we have shipped over 6,000 buckets of cleaning supplied to disaster victims with a dollar value of over $180,000. These buckets are filled by parishioners from across the ARchdiocese of Chicago as well as the Diocese of Joliet.

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Cardinal Francis George approached us about handling "disasters" within the Archdiocese of Chicago. He asked us to use our talents to help ministries within the Archdiocese that needed help with renovations and repairs but lacked adequate financial resources. Answering this call has provided us the opportunity to serve Aid for Women, Emmaus Ministries, Zaccheus House, Monarch Thrift Store, St. Vincent DePaul, Project 229, House of Mary and Joseph, St. Mary's Retreat House and other ministries which feed the hungry, and house the homeless as well as parishes located in all sectors of the Archdiocese.