About Hadassah's Hope
Hadassah means compassion. Our ministry is called Hadassah's Hope because of the compassion we hold for others and the HOPE we have in JESUS. We love because Jesus first loved us, and He told us that the world will know Him and will know we are on Team Jesus by OUR LOVE for one another.
We are a non-profit ministry to reach women who work in the adult entertainment industry. The goal is to offer friendship and love by sharing the hope we have in Jesus.
What if Jesus was serious when He identified you in Matthew 5 as the "light on the hill," the one who was meant to "go and be the light of the world?" What if he had a plan to deeply impact the lives of many women through you? Would you want to be part of his plan?
We believe that is exactly what He desires! We believe God wants to use us to meet the needs of women in Jacksonville with His love and connect with them in ways that allow you to build relationships, bring encouragement, speak life, and share the Gospel.
We are a non-profit ministry to reach women who work in the adult entertainment industry. The goal is to offer friendship and love by sharing the hope we have in Jesus.
What if Jesus was serious when He identified you in Matthew 5 as the "light on the hill," the one who was meant to "go and be the light of the world?" What if he had a plan to deeply impact the lives of many women through you? Would you want to be part of his plan?
We believe that is exactly what He desires! We believe God wants to use us to meet the needs of women in Jacksonville with His love and connect with them in ways that allow you to build relationships, bring encouragement, speak life, and share the Gospel.
Hadassah's Hope Founder and CEO, Tami Taunton
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Coming soon.
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Hadassah's Hope Board of Directors
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Jeff Dalrymple, Chairman of the Board
Jeff is an high capacity organizational leader and strategist. His leadership experience includes several president and C-suite executive roles in higher education, non-profit, and non-governmental organizations. Through assembling and leading teams, Jeff enjoys coaching, strategic planning, and just making things happen. Jeff has a passion for taking things to the next level. Is a leadership junkie. He has an undying passion for excellence which led him to join the team at Reb Buffalo Ventures. He prizes intentional hospitality as a life and leadership philosophy. Furthermore he believes that life is too short for mediocrity. Jeff has a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management, masters in International Relations and Conflict Resolution, and certificates from Disney Institute and Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. Jeff enjoys reading, traveling, all things history, and spending time with family. Married to sweet Kristil they are the parents of: JJ, Kassie, Katherine, and Kylie. They reside in Jacksonville, Florida. |
Brad Taunton, Chair
Brad is the husband of 26 years to Tami and the father to Shelby (23) and Isabella (19). He lives with his family in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and came to saving faith in Jesus later in life at the age of 35. He is an active member of The Church of Eleven22, serving on the church planting team and leading disciple groups. He is a 1994 graduate of Florida State University and is a career professional investigator and an ordained Pastor, serving the local church in both full-time and bi-vocational roles. He is the founder of multiple investigation companies focusing on both insurance fraud investigations and most recently investigating matters of child abuse in churches, mission organizations, and faith-based non-profit organizations. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Hadassah’s Hope and organizes the Rope Holder Team of men that provide support to the Outreach Teams. |
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Tiffany Britts, Secretary
Tiffany doesn’t feel complete unless she is teaching others about God’s love and grace. She has been actively involved in local jail ministry and community outreach for the last 7 years. She is a branch VP at a local credit union and has been in the financial industry for over 14 years. Tiffany enjoys reading, teaching, and spending time with her family. She has been happily married for 9 years and has 3 beautiful children.” |
Bekah Hannah, Chair
Bekah has a passion for teaching the sufficiency of Scripture for everyday life. Leaving behind a career in the arts, she received a Masters of Divinity in Theology & Biblical Counseling. She enjoys writing and teaching. But really, she spends a lot of time flipping houses, works on an abuse investigation team, counseling, and keeping up with her husband, Andrew, and their three daughters, Maggie, Charley and Ellis. |
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Tawny Rountree
Tawny is a native of Florida, currently living in St. Augustine with her husband Nick of 36 years and her two sons, Cayman (22) and Terren (19). Tawny received her law degree from Georgia State University in 1992, where she practiced until moving back “home” to Florida in 2006. For more than 25 years, she has practiced primarily in the area of family law, including divorce, custody, support, alimony, domestic violence injunctions, etc. She thoroughly enjoys her career and helping her clients, but her primary passion is spending time with her family. She is an avid reader and loves the beach. |
Suzanne Corey
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Hadassah's Hope Staff
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Emilee Purdue, Administrative & Communications Support
Meet Emilee. She is a full-time student at Florida State University and the Administration Assistant for Hadassah's Hope. Emilee is passionate about women's ministry and supporting her fellow sisters in Christ. She loves Jesus, books, coffee, and the ocean. Emilee is working toward a BS in Family and Child Science and a BA in Editing, Writing, and Media. She is the Vice President of the Florida State University Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Emilee is overjoyed to be part of Hadassah's Hope! |
Alycia Kopp, Outreach Director
(COMING SOON) |
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Bailey Raab, Case Management & Administration
Bailey is a Hope College graduate with her Social Work degree. Following her graduation in 2019, Bailey sought out multiple experiences sharing the gospel overseas. Bailey moved to Jacksonville in 2020 after completing an internship with Impact Africa is South Africa. During her stay in South Africa, Bailey spent time ministering to women in an area that combats high levels of poverty, sexual abuse, and baby abandonment. When she moved to Jacksonville, she knew she wanted to find ways to pour into young women for the sake of Christ. Bailey helps to run the administrative functions of Hadassah's Hope and minister to women in our Hope Center. Bailey and her husband Kyle got married in August of 2021 in North Carolina surrounded by friends and family. Bailey enjoys being outdoors, coffee dates, and living by the beach. She is looking forward to growing with Hadassah's Hope and loving on the sweet women we minister to. |
Joani Ross, Strategy, Operations & Communications
Joani is passionate about women feeling seen and valued, and knowing that their identity is found in Christ. She graduated from UF in Accounting and received her MBA from UNF. She has over 30 years of experience in marketing, branding, accounting, and research in both the non-profit and for-profit industries. She has led and written several Bible studies for women and teen girls over the years. She is married to Sam and at the tail end of her homeschool journey with two kids, Maddie a sophomore at UF and Jake in 11th grade. She loves Jesus, coffee, college football, the Gators, and to learn new things. She can usually be found on long walks listening to a new book or podcast…with the frequent stop at a coffee shop. |
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Valencia Tupper, Events & Fundraising
Valencia describes herself as a lovely, loud, larger-than-life Latina Jesus Freak! She has joined us as our Event & Fundraising Coordinator. Her previous life as a homeschooling mother and the “everything but the lawyer” position at her husband’s law firm has trained her to manage children, herd cats, and make beauty from chaos (on a tight budget too). A survivor of abuse & assault, Valencia is a passionate advocate for mental health and making women aware of their value & worth as images of our Creator God. In her spare time, Valencia enjoys reading history & mystery, Disney, podcasts, and traveling to Mississippi to visit her son, Alexander, who is a Junior at Belhaven University (GO BLAZERS!) studying Theater & Classical Arts. Get on her good side with an icy Diet Dr Pepper & she’ll be your best friend! |
Why Go Into Strip Clubs?
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This is a question we get - not a lot, to be honest, but enough that we wanted to share our heart and mission in case you get the same question as you faithfully support our ministry and these precious dancers. First and foremost, God calls us to love our neighbors and to be a light in a dark and deeply hurting world. Research suggests (and we have absolutely found) that many of the dancers in strip clubs are disproportionately hurting. So while, yes, for the most part they are there on their own free will to pay the bills, the path to get there was often paved with abandonment, abuse, trauma, lack of opportunities, addiction, homelessness, and more. It causes many to believe their identity is wrapped in these painful circumstances. And dancing further creates the identity narrative that their body and what they do with it defines their value and worth. But as Jesus followers, we know that He is the only one worthy to say who we are. He says that our identity is in Him...as beloved, valued, treasured, purposed, beautiful children of God. So this is the message we go to the clubs to share. We don’t go to shame them or try to get them to leave the clubs. Instead we go to serve them. We go to show them they are loved, seen, and they matter. We bring them a home-cooked meal or gift with no strings attached. We don’t go to preach but to BE the hands of feet of Jesus. We go to build relationships that can lead to discussions about their current needs and their hopes and dreams post-club we can help with...and most importantly discussions about THE ONE who forgives, redeems, restores, saves, and loves unconditionally. That’s why we go!
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