Volunteer Appreciation: Cindy Deese is Volunteer #1!

Merriam-Webster defines the slang term “OG” as someone who is an original or originator, especially one who is highly respected or regarded. When it comes to Hope Alive! volunteers, Cindy Deese is the OG. She was not only Hope Alive!’s first volunteer but also its first child sponsor.

In 2002, Hope Alive! founder Catharine Coon realized that God wanted her to serve fragile families in Uganda. She envisioned a child sponsorship program that would educate young children and strengthen their families, intervening well before the kids ended up on the street. Between assignments in Africa, Catharine attended Cindy’s church, Neighborhood Church of Anderson and Cottonwood (NCAC) in northern California, but Cindy didn’t really know her. During one of Catharine’s visits to the US, she stayed with Cindy and husband Doug and shared her vision for a ministry she called “Children of Hope.” Cindy caught the vision in a big way. Cindy told Catharine that she and Doug wanted to be her first child sponsors—and they were. 

It didn’t stop there. In those early days, Cindy described Catharine as a “one-woman show”—she did it all. While Catharine was in Uganda, however, she often emailed Cindy and asked her to do “this and that” in the U.S.—tasks Catharine couldn’t easily do long distance. Eventually, “this and that” evolved into Cindy helping with sponsorship. For 20-plus years, Cindy has been the first person to welcome new sponsors and send them information about their sponsored child, to answer their questions, and help with concerns. 

When you talk to Cindy, it’s clear that her most prized role in Hope Alive! is that of child sponsor. She’s corresponded and exchanged gifts with her sponsored children over the years and has visited many of them in Uganda. During one visit, two of them, David and Gloria, convinced her to take a boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) ride through the crowded streets of Kampala—a “death defying” experience for Cindy, but one that brought David and Gloria much laughter and delight. Cindy was also touched to learn that her first sponsored child had gotten married and named his daughter Cindy in her honor.

First sponsor, first volunteer, faithful liaison, and staunch advocate for sponsors—it’s hard to imagine where Hope Alive! would be today without the work of Cindy Deese. Thank you to our OG!