The Spark Behind Hope Loves Company
Hope Loves Company was born not from a strategic plan or polished pitch deck, but from heartbreak and a question that wouldn't go away: What about the kids?
When Jodi O’Donnell-Ames lost her first husband, Kevin O’Donnell, to ALS, she found herself not only navigating the crushing grief of a spouse but also trying to parent through it. She had to help her daughter face what no child should have to bear alone.
She searched for support. There were resources for patients. For adult caregivers. For researchers. But for the kids? It seemed like they were being overlooked far too often.
So, she created what didn’t exist.
Founded in 2012, Hope Loves Company (HLC) is the only nonprofit in the United States with the mission of providing emotional and educational support to children and young adults who have or had a loved one with ALS. What began as a small spark of compassion has grown into a national movement of advocacy, empathy, and healing.
Love as a Leadership Principle
From the very beginning, Jodi challenged the conventional definitions of leadership. She didn’t wait for permission or for conditions to be perfect. She started reaching out to families and mailing What Did You Learn Today? in 2007, finally applying for a 501 c3 in 2010 after being able to save enough money for it.
She built a grassroots organization around the principle that no child facing ALS should feel invisible.
Her leadership is about presence and impactful programs. Whether she’s guiding a workshop at Camp HLC or writing a note to a grieving teen, she brings her full self to every encounter. And she’s cultivated a team that leads with the same wholeheartedness.
Creating Safe Spaces for Big Feelings
Every year, Hope Loves Company hosts Camp HLC retreats across the country. These three-day, overnight camps are free to attend and offer something that’s hard to find anywhere else: community without explanation.
At Camp HLC, kids can hike, play games, make s’mores—and speak openly about things most of their peers can’t understand. They’re surrounded by other young caregivers and siblings who get it.
That simple but powerful shift of being seen and heard can change the trajectory of a child’s grief and growth.
In addition to camps, HLC offers family care packages, scholarships, virtual support groups, youth ambassador leadership programs, and the Kids Are Curious video series, which helps young caregivers understand and feel confident around assistive devices used by their loved ones with ALS.
Redefining Higher Purpose
For Jodi and the team at Hope Loves Company, higher purpose means making love a visible, measurable force for change.
For the children of the families they serve, it means showing up with presence, resources, and understanding.
For the ALS community: It means reminding the world that when a person is diagnosed with ALS, the whole family is affected and deserves support.
For the world: It means modeling a kind of leadership that is rooted in empathy, guided by lived experience, and powered by a fierce belief in children’s capacity for healing and hope.
Through Hope Loves Company, its founder and team are lighting the path forward... one care package, one campfire, and one brave, resilient child at a time.
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