Support Team
Sara Boven (Co-founder)
Executive Director
“Homes Giving Hope allows me to serve a population that often gets missed in life. God has created each resident fearfully and wonderfully in His image. I have loved learning about each person individually and helping them grow towards independence in their own ways.”
My name is Sara and I am a wife and mom of three children. I spent the beginning of my career as a teacher. As my family grew and my talents and interests changed, I decided to take a leap of faith and leave education in order to be a full-time mom and part time Career Coach with the ACE Project. For the past three years, I have worked to help individuals with unique abilities discover their own talents and interests, and develop pre-employment skills and training to help establish future employment success.
Abigail Woronko
“I love working here for so many reasons. HGH is such a special place to work. I enjoy getting to do life alongside our residents. It’s awesome to see them grow and overcome challenges. And we get to celebrate life’s ups and downs together as a family.”
Abigail has her bachelor’s in Social Work from Hope College and has a heart and a passion for this population. She has been working in this population for 3 ½ years now.
Abigail comes to us with a wealth of experience working with adults with disabilities. She brings passion, energy and leadership to Homes Giving Hope.
Amber LeSarge
Resident Assistant
“I love working for HGH for the simple joy of seeing residents enjoy their independent lives and engaging with the community.”
Hi my name is Amber and I’m the new professional roommate. I am excited to start this new journey with Homes Giving Hope. I recently graduated from Compass College of Cinematic Arts with a bachelors in fine art. I work at Costco stocking everything in the mornings. I have a little dog named Frankie who loves to play fetch and give lots of kisses. I love to spend time outdoors camping, going to the beach, and hiking through the woods (Frankie likes hiking too). When indoors I love reading, watching Disney movies, and will never pass on an opportunity to play a board game.
Hayley Lucarelli
Resident Assistant
“I love being a part of HGH1 for a lot of reasons. I love watching the girls grow in their independence and in a community. I enjoy working and living along these girls and being in a Christ center house!”
Hayley Lucarelli is so excited to see what God has in store for her at Homes Giving Hope! Hayley studied Criminal Justice at GRCC. After college, she was hired as a Deputy in Newaygo County, but soon felt God was calling her somewhere else. Hayley enjoys walking and playing with Nala, her family’s one year old German Shepherd. She also loves to spoil her cat Ivy with playtime and snuggles. Hayley grew up going to her family’s lake house so she loves anything involving water: swimming, skiing, tubing, and relaxing on the boats. She spends most of her free time cooking, baking, reading, watching movies, cross stitching, and crocheting
Ryder
Emotional Support Companion
Hi I’m Ryder and I’m the Emotional Support Coordinator at the women’s house. I have been a part of the womens’ house since it began and boy do I love my ladies! We play chase, snuggle and sometimes go for walks. In my free time, I enjoy the outdoors and the occasional shoe.
Alissa Rosenberger
Supporting Resident Assistant
“I love working at HGH bc I get to watch people grow and change themselves.”
Alissa has been working with adults with disabilities for 15 years. She graduated from Sparta high school in 2004, and was going to school to be a teacher but later found her passion to serve individuals with disabilities. She enjoys working at HGH and seeing the growth in individuals. Alissa teaches dance as well as danceversity, which gives her great joy. She enjoys biking, camping, watching her son wrestle and her daughter dance. Her family attends and are members of Sparta church of the Nazarene.
Amy Ziebarth
Supporting Resident Assistant
“I like supporting the residents to achieve their best life is probably what I enjoy most about working at Homes GIving Hope. Homes Giving Hope being Christ Centered is what I love most about our mission statement. Because Jesus is such an important part of my life I can’t imagine not being able to walk through life with our residents and their independence without being able to walk alongside them while sharing dependence with Him.”
Amy comes to us as a CLS staff supporting one of our residents and also serves at both of our homes providing home-cooked meals and connections. Amy has a wealth of experience (7 years +) supporting individuals with disabilities. She brings fun to the table as well as stability to our homes. Amy attends Frontline Community Church and enjoys spending time with her family (4 kids, 2 grandkids, husband of 32 years), working in her yard, cooking and reading. What Amy enjoys most about her job is spending time with residents and being a part of their growth.
Brianna Wildey
Supporting Resident Assistant
“I enjoy working at Homes Giving Hope because I love being able to support others and form friendships!”
My name is Bri and I am a second grade teacher in Grand Rapids. I first learned about the Homes Giving Hope mission when my youngest brother became a resident in the first men’s home. I have loved seeing how this organization has helped him grow and I wanted to be a part of this community. My hobbies include dancing, singing at my church, reading, watching movies (especially Disney), trying new food, and visiting new places. I also love animals! I enjoy playing with my cats Ollie and Lola and my dog, Clyde. I am very excited to be a part of the second women’s home!
Maddie Bennett
Supporting Resident Assistant
“I enjoy being able to guide the group of women from HGH1 in their journey of independence. One of the best things is getting to see each individual’s growth that they have made and how far they have come.”
My name is Maddie Bennett and I am a sophomore at Aquinas College. I am studying Sociology with a Concentration in Social Work. I came to Homes Giving Hope originally as a part of a service learning experience through Aquinas and I became fascinated with the mission of HGH. I was given the opportunity to continue my time at HGH in the women’s home as a Supporting Resident Assistant. One of my favorite hobbies is playing soccer, which is fitting because I am a part of the Women’s Club Soccer team at Aquinas. I also enjoy running in my spare time.
McCormac (Mac) Wyn
Resident Assistant
“I enjoy working with Homes Giving Hope because I believe in their mission to create opportunities for a unique population to grow in independence and character. I am excited to get to know all the guys and grow in responsibility and maturity together.”
McCormack Wyn will be the R.A. for the guys house starting in August. He is a recent graduate from Grand Valley with a degree in music. McCormack plays the cello professionally, teaching for the Ada Conservatory of Music as well as performing for the Holland Symphony, Civic Theatre, and other musical groups. McCormack is also interested in classical education and enjoys reading classic books as well as books on psychology and religion. He also loves to explore and enjoy God’s creation by looking at birds and fishing.
Nate Shell
Supporting Resident Assistant
“Working with Homes Giving Hope is actually a way to serve the Rockford community. Working with the guy’s house has been good for me. I even believe God was calling me to Homes Giving Hope. Just the way everything worked out.”
My name is Nate Shell. I have lived in Grand Rapids my whole life, the younger of two older sisters. I have two nephews ages 6 and 2 years old. I have been raised in a Christian home; have attended Magnify Church in Rockford my whole life since I was four years old, back when it was Blythefield Hills Baptist Church. I have participated in numerous church productions such as Easter Drama and Dinner Theatre. Right now I’m just starting to expand my theatre world such as Cedar Springs Community Players and Master Arts Theatre. At church I love and serve Jesus by acting as a Bible character for kids at Magnify during large group teaching time. I enjoy being with children and I believe kids are precious in God’s eyes. I’ve also worked at Pine Ridge Bible camp for 3 years and enjoy mission and discipleship trips with my church.