ELEANOR M. JOSAITIS
Art Van Furniture is entering its fourth consecutive year of the Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge and is poised to continue its positive impact on Michigan’s communities. As part of the 2011 program, Art Van donated $50,000 to Focus: HOPE. This year, the company has committed to making Focus: HOPE its primary charitable initiative for 2012, by donating $1 million in funding and over $20,000 worth of food, books, art supplies and mattresses. Art Van’s support will even go even further, in the form of quarterly fundraising and friend-raising events in its stores.
Eleanor Josaitis was a Civil Rights activist and co-founder of Focus Hope; a nationally renowned civil and human rights organization, had a passion for justice and gave hope and opportunities to countless thousands for well over four decades.
She was a leader who fought with courage and tenacity to open opportunities to African Americans, women and others through her philanthropic efforts including a food program, career training programs, and the HOPE Village initiative.
As Eleanor frequently said, “There’s no greater way to eliminate racism and poverty than to see that people have education, skills, jobs and opportunities in life,”
Josaitis’s work with Focus: HOPE included a food program, which has furnished over 500 million meals for children and senior citizens; workforce training programs, which have provided jobs for more than 12,000 of its graduates; and a comprehensive early child care program.
Mr. Van Elslander was a close friend of Focus: HOPE’s co-Founder, Eleanor Josaitis, and he said this about the company’s commitment to carrying on her work: “Eleanor had such a strong impact on so many lives. Keeping her spirit, her legacy and her work alive is imperative.”