Public Ribbon Cutting of the Sylvia Stokes Suite

Please join the Platform of Hope on Saturday, May 20, 2023 from 12:15-1:30 for the Ribbon Cutting of the Sylvia Stokes Suite, our office in the newly renovated Festival Center. After almost five years, we are so excited to be moving to a permanent space to call our own-- and to be naming in honor of POH's founding staff member, Sylvia Stokes.

Speakers will include Sylvia's daughter Aliya, former colleagues from the Platform of Hope and Jubilee Housing, families in the Platform of Hope, in addition to others.

For those unable to attend on May 20th, we invite you to visit our office anytime in the coming months!

• Submit your recollections of Sylvia here: https://forms.gle/sQa7hD6UAmh97WWh9
• Should you wish to make a donation in her honor, gifts will be utilized to support the Sylvia Suite and Platform of Hope programming. Donations can be made on eventbrite or directly through the Platform of Hope's website here: www.platformofhopedc.org/donate

About Sylvia

Sylvia Stokes was the founding staff member of the Platform of Hope when our initiative launched in 2018. Formerly the Vice President of Programs at Jubilee Housing, Sylvia chose to assume the position of "Family Care Lead" of the new, emerging POH initiative and implement our family-centered model. Throughout 2017-2020, Sylvia worked closely with families in the development of POH; formation of Cohort A; and then launch of Cohort B-- with her loving, fierce, funny and no-nonsense spirit becoming ingrained within POH's DNA.

We lost Sylvia in April 2020 to COVID-19, a devastating blow to her family, community and many loved ones. Since then, Sylvia's indomitable spirit lives on in our memories and continued commitment to supporting families and advocating for a more just world. This spring we are honored to permanently honor her legacy with the naming of the POH's new office. You can hear and see Sylvia talk about the early vision for the Platform of Hope, along with Maureen Dwyer, in this video. "A Platform of Hope is needed in every city," she declared.

Sylvia had a decades-long history of building community and supporting families, first in Massachusetts and then in the DMV area. We are proud to be just one part of her amazing story and to have shared her with a wide network of family, friends, colleagues, ministries and other communities. Read more about Sylvia's multifaceted life and legacy here in her obituary.

About the Platform of Hope

The Platform of Hope is a nonprofit initiative founded five years ago by anchor institutions in the Adams Morgan area of Washington, DC (Jubilee Housing, Mary’s Center, Jubilee JumpStart and Sitar Arts Center) to pilot a new approach for connecting economically disadvantaged families to services, supports and one another.

Today, we're currently in our fifth program year, working with over 70 Black and Brown families based in Ward 1 to identify and pursue their goals across housing, health, education, finances and employment as well as magnify their voice for community change. Our model emphasizes a family-centered approach to goal setting, as well as intentionally builds social capital between participants. As we prepare for a "Phase II" vision for the Platform of Hope, we continue to strive for our founding values to: Confront Inequity; Center Families; and be Responsive + Transparent in our work.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road Northwest, Washington, United States