Meet our hope helpers

I am Rebecca Hague, the founder of Hope Awakening. I am a Beautician and a Dental Assistant by trade and a mother of Three Beautiful Children who have been my reason to keep going as well as my team that has helped me succeed. 

Hope Awakening began from life's unfortunate circumstances. After becoming a believer God placed this organization in my heart. He used my circumstances to show me how other people who are going through similar situations could use the support I never received. The support I received was very negative and out of necessity. In my family my ways were very unconventional compared to theirs. I created this organization in 2022 in hopes to change the way our community is run. Our society has spent many years creating an environment where money is the most important part of a person’s life. It puts a value on a person that isn’t attainable. Our goal is to have our community view themselves in a different way. We want our citizens to view themselves as priceless.

This idea was created through my own experiences in life. My first husband was extremely neglectful which ended up being the reason for our divorce. My second husband was an alcoholic, abusive, and also neglectful. Their careers kept them from being at home which forced me to learn how to do things on my own. Eventually my second husband abandoned us which over time forced us into homelessness. Learning to be self-sufficient helped my children and I survive. It also taught my children how to be independent. This is what sparked the idea for Hope Awakening. 

Our goal  is to have a business supported by our community. We have partnered with different businesses across the front range to give our citizens the opportunity to flourish in life. We have certified training courses available through these businesses. We’re working to bridge the gap between education and employment. We offer life skills workshops that are geared towards confidence building and self-sufficiency. By teaching families these skills it will create a team environment for families. Delegating tasks to work together and create joy in their life. We also offer makeovers to help our participants learn to love themselves again by building up their confidence. Which in turn will help get them back into the workforce. 

Our goal is to be able to place people into jobs that they are passionate about instead of just getting people into jobs to pay the bills, we believe by doing this. This will create a positive outcome for job security and by working with businesses in our community it will provide an encouraging experience for people re-entering the workforce.  Our life skills workshops will be taught by business professionals as well as members who want to teach skills in our community to help others thrive. Any of our life skills workshops will be available for at-risk youth and young adults. And will be a neutral learning environment.

With willing hearts and working together we can grow our community into the place God intended it to be. We want you to know that God loves you and sees all the good work you are doing for our citizens. We are so excited to be working with you all to get this county thriving! 

I’m Theresa (Terri) Bontrager and I am the Co-founder and CFO of Hope Awakening.  I grew up in  a town 20 minutes away from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. 

I have had social anxiety since childhood. I had a different way of learning than the general school system offered. I was able to receive my GED at 17 with top scores. Tried college, however, that was the same type of curriculum, so I dropped out. I immediately started taking certified training, and thought, this is my type of learning. I have two certificates, medical and dental assistant and computer training and theory. I loved these classes, and I do really love to learn. I actually ended up being voted by my peers to do a graduation speech. The speech is a blur, but I heard I did great! 

My last training was accounting, but I was hired directly out of the school before being certified. I have worked with the most interesting people and have had the coolest, weirdest jobs, but they were fun. 

I have used and worked with every skill that I learned by these trade schools. I love to learn now. 

Some of us are meant for college, and some are not. Certified training, classes and workshops can fill in that gap for others like me.

I was also a single mom in my later years, with a daughter with special needs, and having a disability myself, that limits my income. We were homeless for about 9 months from a pop up camper and then living in a closed hotel. I eventually ended up in a low income mobile home park here in Cañon City.

I am positive that together with Hope Awakening and this community we will be able to offer these classes that are truly needed, not only in Cañon City, but also Fremont County. This is what Hope Awakening means to me. Choices.

Being in these rural communities, we do not offer the things that larger cities and counties offer. 

We are a woman owned and run business. We love our communities and the people, and we just want to see them succeed in life.

I would love to share my knowledge with you and I'm sure you have some to give back.

  I feel like this foundation is a great platform to help those in need. Some of the programs and classes that will be offered would have really helped me when my ex left me and our two kids. I was lost. I had no idea how I was going to make it. I would have benefited from the help that Hope Awakening is offering. If I can help out other people in tough situations like that one and make their lives better.

Mahatma Gandhi once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” At 12 years old I took that quote to heart. That was my ultimate goal. I was going to change the world! The problem was that the world told me I was only one person and I couldn't change the world. That was until I met Jesus. Jesus tells me that He will give me the desires of my heart. He has shown me the path that He wants me to be on. My purpose is to help people who are lost find their way again. Let them know how Jesus changed my life and how He can help change theirs.

One of the most significant moments in my life that showed me that this was my purpose was actually before I had a relationship with Jesus. It was like He was showing me a glimpse of the life He wanted to give me. I was on the Design Team at the beauty school I went to. It was a club that did activities to help the community. One in particular was my favorite. Every Wednesday we would go to Springs Rescue Mission to give haircuts to the homeless. Giving haircuts to those beautiful souls opened up my eyes and my heart. Showing them a little bit of love made them feel like they weren’t so alone. It filled my heart with so much joy. That was the moment I knew one day I would be doing this for a living. 

Through recovery from an addiction to alcohol I have learned that we all get lost. This softened my heart even more for those who suffer from many different types of circumstances. Recovering lit a huge fire under me to help people out of these pits. When Becca proposed this opportunity to me it was an immediate yes! We weren’t just going to be helping the homeless get back on their feet. We were going to help lower-income families, domestic violence survivors, children, etc. This had been the dream I had waited for all of these years. I finally get to help people the way God had impressed on my heart! And the best part is I get to do it with my best friend. 

Hello Everyone, my name is Brittney Smith I am the owner and artist of Clay, and Create and creative Director of Hope Awakening. I love to work with Hope Awakening because they strive to give back to the community in more ways than one. They continue to not only inspire me, but they inspire everyone around them. It’s such a blessing to be able to say that I am their Creative Director. Together we are currently working on a project called Art In Motion. This project will allow us to connect community leaders all over Colorado,from Canon City to Denver. This project brings out the childlike energy in everyone of us. When we were kids we would dance, draw, scribble, finger paint, and play with play dough and legos. Unfortunately when we got older we stopped creating. I am here to prove that each and everyone of us is an artist. The beautiful thing about this project is that the materials are sustainable. We have asked for donations of old drop cloths from paint companies. These drop cloth canvases are used in the workshops for participants to throw paint on. I then take these canvases and turn them into wearable art. By Challenging the idea of 2-D, 3-D, and fashion art I am able to take traditional concepts and turn them into something new and exciting. The pieces that are made in this collection will be put on a runway to raise money for the nonprofits that participate. Clay and Create will be donating 50% of the proceeds sold from each piece. We are also creating a casual line that will be able to continue to donate 20% of all sales to the participating nonprofits. I’m so excited for this project and to be able to further inspire people and Create the unimaginable.

There are many reasons why I want to be part of Hope Awakening. Moving to Fremont County after living in big cities for most of my life, I finished my Master's Degree in Social Work and found that living in a small community meant that there were limited resources for a wide variety of needs. Hearing about the goals and ideas of Hope Awakening made me excited to think about the possibilities of helping so many unmet needs in this part of Colorado. My goal is to help create and facilitate opportunities for growth and development of programs and activities that will benefit families who haven't had access to what they needed to thrive here.