Our Leader
Adriana Sanders serves as the Executive Director of the Doris Wiles Center of Hope, a beacon of positivity and support within the community. The Center’s journey began in the summer of 2008, inspired by the vision of Doris A. Wiles. What started as a Vacation Bible School quickly grew into something far greater, supported by a dedicated team and a wide range of impactful programs.
Under Wiles’s leadership, the Center of Hope evolved into a fully active youth center within New Life Ministries. It became a space for empowerment and connection, offering resources such as computers for academic and social use, video games, a comfortable lounge area, and an outdoor basketball court. This initial chapter came to a close in 2012 when First Lady Wiles relocated to Dallas, Texas.
In 2015, the Center of Hope was revived under new leadership with a renewed mission to serve as a source of light during a challenging time. In response to the growing impact of gun violence on youth in the community, the organization focused on restoring hope through initiatives such as community walks and events at Summit Park, helping to reclaim and uplift the neighborhood.
A defining moment came in August 2015 with “Operation Our Community,” a large-scale event at Summit Park where 200 inner-city youth received backpacks. Throughout 2015 and 2016, the Center maintained a strong and meaningful presence in the community through its outreach efforts.
Although operations paused for a period, the mission of the Center of Hope remained strong. In April 2018, Sanders and her husband returned to Wisconsin and reconnected with their roots. They began by partnering with the School District of Beloit to provide meals for local children. What started as a small initiative quickly expanded, and by the end of that summer, the Center of Hope was once again serving 40 to 50 children daily.
Today, Sanders continues to carry forward the legacy established by Doris A. Wiles. Guided by the same passion for serving youth, she remains committed to restoring hope and strengthening the community through consistent, positive initiatives.
Our History
Doris Wiles Center of Hope began in the summer of 2008 at New Life Ministries in Beloit WI. Her vision was to grab the youth, while they are young, and educate them on how important it is to get their education. She created a plan by finding out where the children were struggling academically and grabbed some tutors from the Beloit College and got to work. Many of the youth she helped, not only graduated Beloit Memorial High School, but some went to college and got jobs.
Doris Wiles created a classroom environment inside of New Life Ministries. There were computers lined up against the wall for those that needed to study online. There were plenty of tables and chairs for them to do their projects for their presentations. If some of them came in hungry, she made sure there was plenty of food to eat by providing a hot lunch for them. If they needed counseling, she had a private area set up for those that needed to vent, and she would pray with them. She created a safe environment for everyone who wanted to further their education but couldn’t do it from their home.
Center of Hope is located at 1400 Harvey St. Beloit, WI inside of New Life Ministries. Since 2008, there has been many upgrades, but due to slow funding, some of our upgrades are behind. The Center of Hope has reconstructed the youth center into a place where the children can still do their homework, but now they can sing, do poetry, play games, and meet new friends. There is not a lot of space for the gifts and talents that these kids have. The Center of Hope needs the funds to build a basketball court and build a safe playground for, not just the Center of Hope, but the whole Merrill Community.
Today the Center of Hope has partnered with a few local businesses that have been a great help with their events. In October 2018, the Center of Hope hosted “Trunk or Treat” and because of the local businesses that sponsored that event, the Center of Hope was able to supply 500 families with food, candy, and prizes. The goal of the Center of Hope is to build a relationship with other local businesses so they can build a bridge to the Merrill Community.
The Center of Hope is a long-term goal. Every year that there is a child graduating, there is a new child starting school. The Center of Hope plans to be there from beginning to the end. The Center of Hope plans on having school aged tutors that are there to guild the children to wherever they see themselves going in the future. The Center of Hope have children with dreams of becoming nurses and some engineers and the Center wants to be able to provide the resources to point them in that direction.
