Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover officials celebrate six years of community giving through the Neighborhood Bridges Hoover organization on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and the Hoover City Council this week honored the Hoover Helps and Neighborhood Bridges Hoover organizations for their outstanding dedication and generosity in serving the needs of children and families in Hoover.
Hoover Helps this month celebrates 10 years in existence and in that time has donated more than $1.5 million worth of aid to needy children and families in Hoover, including nearly $1 million worth of food.
Hoover Helps, founded by Greg and Donna Bishop, partners with faith-based organizations, school counselors, teachers, city leaders, firefighters and other volunteers to provide food and other needed items to more than 500 students in Hoover City Schools each week.
With a spirit of compassion and service, the organization truly makes a difference in the lives of children and families throughout Hoover, the proclamation from the mayor and City Council said.
To learn more, visit hooverhelps.org.
Photo from Hoover Helps website
Cheerleaders from Hoover City Schools collect donations for the Hoover Helps organization at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover city leader congratulate the Hoover Helps organization for 10 years of meeting needs of Hoover children in families during a Hoover City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.
Neighborhood Bridges Hoover, led by David Bannister, was formed six years ago to supplement the work of Hoover Helps and help meet other types of need experienced by students in Hoover schools and their families, such as clothing, eyewear, lunch money, field trip money, extracurricular participation fees, medical care, hygiene needs, work clothes, school supplies and more.
Counselors and school resource officers in Hoover schools identify needs among students and share those needs anonymously with the community through Neighborhood Bridges Hoover’s email list of more than 3,000 community members and 12,000 social media followers.
Community members donate money online and deliver some items to Hoover fire stations, and firefighters deliver those items to the schools for distribution to the children anonymously, Bannister said.
“We never know who we’re helping. We don’t know who it’s going to,” he said.
The organization has filled more than 3,500 requests for help over six years, providing more than $1 million worth of aid, according to the proclamation from the mayor and City Council.
The organization is all-volunteer, so 100% of proceeds go directly to meet children’s needs, Bannister said.
Since starting in Hoover, Neighborhood Bridges has spread to more than 30 other communities in Alabama, multiplying the kindness, Bannister said.
To learn more, visit neigborhoodbridges.org.
