Chris Kerns has lived in Washington, DC for over 40 years. He has a wonderful wife, Carole, and three grown sons. He is a respected in-house attorney for Fort Myer Construction, a large paving and construction company in the District. Even with all these accomplishments, Chris’s volunteer work with Community of Hope “is the most important work I do everyday.”

Throughout the last 23 years, Chris has proved invaluable in promoting the mission and work of Community of Hope as a member of its Board of Directors. He has given the organization legal advice in many areas. As one of the donors of the property of Hope Apartments, Chris was instrumental in Community of Hope’s entry into recovery-based housing. Even though he recently “graduated” from the board, Chris will continue to lead the team that is deep in negotiations for a new clinic site in Southeast DC.

When asked what he likes best about volunteering at Community of Hope, Chris says, “Really, what I like best is seeing and hearing success stories from the people that have really benefited. The second best thing is seeing how much the employees and volunteers at Community of Hope enjoy being involved.” And, why should YOU volunteer? Chris has an answer for that, too. “I’ve gotten more out of this than I’ve ever put into it. Everybody that I’ve ever talked to about volunteering has gotten more out of it than they put into it. It’s just a win-win. There’s a lot of effort and there’s some heartache, but it’s all overcome by understanding how much you grow as a human being. I’ve gotten tremendous long-term relationships out of it. My recommendation to everybody is to think about becoming involved in something that is bigger than you are.”

*Editor’s note: In July 2010, Chris Kerns re-joined Community of Hope’s Board of Directors. Welcome back, Chris!