The Higher Hope Foundation reached out to me on one of my hardest days since losing my mom to homicide. Since the day I learned she was taken from me, I have lived in constant financial stress, agonizing grief and the feeling of just wanting RELIEF, even if I couldn’t name it. When I was told I would be receiving help to cover costs regarding the loss of my mom, I cried. I had a release of those very emotions I mentioned above. Knowing that there was a foundation made for people in my situation, sponsored by people who have the means to help and actually do was a great feeling. In the midst of tragedy, I was not alone. I was seen and I was supported. Higher Hope gave me relief. Thank you, from the bottom of my broken heart. This will help my family get one step closer to escaping financial strain.

As a viewer of TCKR and eventually all the Mile Higher Media shows for 8 years now, I never thought I’d have a need for this grant. I have supported by buying merchandise and being an active viewer of the channels. When this tragedy happened, and we realized there would be a high financial need, I immediately thought to apply for a Hope grant. My family is beyond grateful to have been chosen to receive this grant. Haley emailed me and we hopped on a call the same day, only about a week after applying- and I signed paperwork the same day. Our goal is that Paxton is not forgotten and that what happened to her can be a lesson for women or men enduring the same abuse she did. If someone who loves you lays a hand on you, they do not love you. Seek help and safety as soon as possible. Do not doubt that the abuse will escalate. Paxton April Wallace was a smart, kind, and resilient woman. She was a sister, a niece, and a daughter. Her death will not be in vain.

The Empower grant enabled us to waive registration for all families of unsolved homicide victims and long-term missing persons, allowing them to attend our 2025 Cold Case Symposium in person or virtually. Our symposium brings together families, experts, advocates, and investigators to raise awareness and share insights while working towards resolution in unsolved cases, while also promoting healing.

Advocating for a missing or murdered child is perhaps the second toughest duty that a parent may ever face, the first obviously would be accepting that their child is, in fact, missing or murdered. It is emotionally draining, physically exhausting and financially burdensome. The Hope Grant awarded us by the Higher Hope Foundation has helped alleviate this burden and allow us to continue the task of putting this horrible puzzle together. For this we are incredibly grateful!

The Higher Hope Foundation ‘Empower’ grant has significantly improved the quality of the forensic interviews that CARE House of Oakland County conducts by providing funding for newer, fully-functioning microphone systems that are used to record the interviews of child abuse victims for multi-disciplinary team child protection, law enforcement and prosecution personnel. The ‘Empower’ grant is also impacting the ability of CARE House to conduct these interviews, by providing funding directly for the cost of forensic interviews, so that child abuse victims have a safe and welcoming environment in which to share their experience. CARE House of Oakland County is only able to help child abuse victims heal with the generous support of incredible partners like the Higher Hope Foundation.

The Higher Hope Foundation has made a huge impact on my family’s life. Making me give hope for humanity in the darkest times of our lives. The process of receiving the Hope Grant was beyond easy to do. The process was explained very well. The people I talked to were all so kind and caring. Through the process they were always there and I can’t explain how much this means to us. The money is going towards the Lawyer’s bills. This money is going up help take some stress off of our shoulders. We can’t believe how much helo the Hope Foundation is willing to help victims and their families like us.

Because of Higher Hope’s investment, the Arizona Border Alliance was able to launch Puentes de Esperanza in Douglas, Arizona, a comprehensive, trauma informed program serving survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and trafficking in one of the most underserved border communities in the state. This funding has directly enabled us to provide bilingual crisis response and case management, expand access to healing services like trauma informed yoga and art therapy, and create safe, private spaces for survivors to access virtual therapy, legal services, and court proceedings through our SafeTech Project.

At Missing In America Network, we are honored to be a recipient of the Empower Grant, a gift that is making a real, measurable difference in our mission to support families with missing loved ones.
This grant came at a critical time, allowing us to strengthen the core of our operations and expand the reach of our advocacy. With Empower’s support:
We’re now reaching up to 250,000 people per day through our missing person billboard campaigns.
Our online awareness campaigns are reaching over 50,000 people daily, not including shares.
In just 6 weeks, we’ve printed and distributed 1,500 flyers directly to families, plus another 1,000 through community partners.
We’ve invested in specialized training for our Family Advocate Support Team.
Today, we are actively supporting over 100 open cases, and have walked beside more than 500 families over the past four years.
Thanks to the Empower Grant, our families feel seen. Our advocates are better equipped. And our reach is growing to bring hope where it’s needed most. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Higher Hope has been a pleasure to work with. Their application is really easy to fill out and we really appreciate their support of our work.