Hope Village for Children recently dedicated its program building to Trustmark Bank as a way to recognize and thank the bank for its generous $100,000 donation to the organization.

The newly named Trustmark Bank Program Building is located behind Hope Village for Children’s administration building, which sits along 23rd Avenue across the street from the Hope Village campus.

“It’s heroes like Trustmark with their commitment to the betterment and health of our community that are truly making a difference. With their very generous donation, Hope Village will continue to thrive, providing the best care possible for Mississippi’s most vulnerable children,” Hope Village founder Sela Ward said in a prepared statement. “Trustmark, thank you for being such a strong leader in Meridian. We so appreciate you!”

The Trustmark Bank Program Building encompasses a total of seven offices and houses the organization’s programming staff, including the director of therapeutic services and quality management, as well as program administrators and assistants. The building also includes space that is utilized by two licensed therapists who conduct private therapy for all of the residents who live at Hope Village.

These are the people who manage the day-to-day operations of Hope Village’s group homes, emergency shelter and two transitional houses, according to a Hope Village spokesperson.

More than two dozen Hope Village administrators, guild members and board members joined with bank officials, as well as representatives from the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation and the City of Meridian, for the recent ribbon cutting.

Ward, an actress and Meridian native, was instrumental in establishing Hope Village more than two decades ago as a home for abused and neglected foster children from across the state. Its 30-acre campus is home to an emergency shelter for children ages birth to 18, three cottages licensed as long-term therapeutic residential facilities for children ages 12 to 18, two transitional homes for young adults transitioning out of the foster care system and a licensed therapeutic foster care program.