CASPER, Wyo. — Hope. It’s a funny word, a funny idea. Hope is a spectrum. We hope that it doesn’t rain during our picnic. We hope that our favorite basketball team wins the championship ring. Some people hope that the girl or guy of their dreams texts them back.
For others, hope is something…bigger. It’s something deeper. For these people, hope is the reason they get out of bed in the morning. They keep going because they hope that today will be better than yesterday.
For countless families in Wyoming, hope is the only thing they have. They hope that their babies will be okay. They hope that their child will survive. They hope — they beg and they pray and they hope — that somebody will help. For these people, there is the Orr’s Hope Foundation.
The Orr’s Hope Foundation, according to its website, “is for Wyoming families facing the many challenges of premature birth and children under age 19 with medically complex conditions. During this difficult journey, Orr’s Hope Foundation seeks to come along side these families and walk with them, providing support, education, financial assistance for non-medical needs, and connections to other resources to help them thrive as they navigate the many challenges that come through these medical journeys.”
Those journeys are vast and varied. Sometimes they don’t have happy endings. But sometimes they do, and that’s because of organizations like The Orr’s Hope Foundation.
“We work hand-in-hand with hospitals in Montana, Colorado, and Utah to ensure that our families who are in the middle of a medical crisis can be beside their children,” the website states. “We partner with Ronald McDonald House Charities to help provide the lodging for families who are sent out of state. We know there is no “one size fits all” approach to caring for families in the midst of a medical crisis. We have the flexibility to provide intentional support to families through non-medical financial assistance.”
The Orr’s Hope Foundation, and organizations like it, are only possible because of the individuals who support it through events like the Concert for Hope.
For the past five years, The Orr’s Hope Foundation’s Concert for Hope has gathered countless Wyoming residents to the David Street Station for games, food, vendors and live music, courtesy of Wyoming’s own Chancey Williams.
The fifth annual Concert for Hope took place on Thursday and, as in years prior, David Street Station was packed from pillar to post with people who simply want to help.
“This event was started to celebrate families and celebrate hope,” said Whitney Asay, the Executive Director of the David Street Station. “And the people behind it are so kind to let this be a community-wide event. It’s so cool to watch it all come together.”
A gigantic component of the success of the Concert for Hope each year is the inclusion of Wyoming’s hometown boy made good, Chancey Williams. Each year, it seems, Williams’ name gets bigger and bigger but he still makes it a point to be in Casper every year at the end of May.
“Casper loves Chancey Williams,” Asay beamed. “And our community continues to come out to support them. The fact that they come home and support us is fabulous. And I know that they have a great relationship with the Orr family. It’s a relationship they’ve built and it’s one that is so meaningful.”
Another component of the success of the Concert for Hope is that it’s a free event, open to the public. For David Street Station, it’s one of the biggest events of their year, the unofficial start to their summer season. It’s also a chance for the Station to once again remind the community that it’s here not only to put on entertaining events, but to support fellow organizations designed to help Casper and its people.
“I think it just starts the summer off right,” Asay said. “This kicks off six straight days of events. It’s a major kickoff and it really just brings everybody out and really kind of connects everybody. I think that it’s an amazing way to start the season. I’m very grateful for all of them, especially the Orr Foundation, for spearheading this and continuing to support the concert, the community, and the David Street Station.”
The Orr’s Hope Foundation exists to help Wyoming families when help is most needed. It exists to be a light during a dark time. It’s a way for families to hold out a little longer, to hope a little more. The Concert for Hope is a celebration — of community, of togetherness and, yes, of hope.
Photos from the event can be seen below:
