Meet the Heart Behind Hope 40:31
Hi, I’m Rachael! I live in Central Ohio with my husband, Dan,
and our family. Dan and I have been married for 25 years, and
we have two amazing kids, our daughter
Cailyn and our son Daniel, along with our three very loved
pups—Champ, Hope, and Zion. Family is one of God’s greatest
gifts in my life, and loving, supporting, and walking alongside
the people I love has shaped so much of who I am.
I’m also a Family Nurse Practitioner, and caring for others has always been an important part of my calling. Through my work and my own personal journey, God has given me a heart for
people who are hurting, struggling, or simply trying to find their way through the messy and difficult seasons of life. My faith in Jesus has been my foundation through some of my own hardest places, reminding me again and again that we are never alone and that hope can still be found—even when life doesn’t look the way we thought it would. It is from that place—my love for Jesus, my family, my experiences in healthcare, and the hard places my own family has walked through—that the story of Hope 40:31 began.
Where Our Story Began: I'm Still Me
Hope 40:31 began with a simple desire: to help people feel less alone.
In 2022, our journey started as I’m Still Me, a nonprofit charity created to raise awareness about mental health and support those affected by it. The mission was deeply personal. Mental health struggles had touched my own life, my daughter’s life, and the
lives of many friends and family members I love. I saw firsthand
how isolating these struggles could be—not only for the person hurting, but also for the parents, caregivers, spouses, and loved ones trying desperately to help.
We wanted to do something that made a difference.
Turning Awareness Into Action
Over the next several years, I’m Still Me hosted three beach volleyball tournaments to raise awareness and funds for mental health support in our local community. Proceeds were donated to the Buckeye Valley Middle School and High School counseling departments, helping support students and the professionals walking alongside them, and later to Buckeye Valley LifeWise, supporting faith-based outreach and encouragement for local students.
When God Led Us Deeper
As the journey continued, I began to feel God pulling the mission in a deeper direction.
My faith in Jesus has been an essential part of my own mental health journey. It has also carried me through some of the hardest seasons of loving and parenting a child who struggles with mental health. I have learned—often imperfectly—what it means to pray when I do not have answers, to keep loving when I cannot fix the problem, to trust God when I am afraid, and to surrender the people I love most into His hands.
Why Hope 40:31
As the vision for the organization grew, I felt God leading me to make faith not just a part of the mission, but the foundation of everything we do. The name Hope 40:31 was inspired by Isaiah 40:31: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” These words have become deeply meaningful to me because my own family has walked through seasons when we have felt weary, overwhelmed, and unsure of what the next day would bring. Through it all, I have learned that hope doesn’t mean life is easy or that everything turns out the way we want—it means trusting that God is still with us in the middle of it. Hope 40:31 was born from a desire to share that hope with others by showing God’s love in real and tangible ways. Whether someone is facing mental health struggles, grief, illness, family challenges, financial hardship, or simply a difficult season of life, my prayer is that Hope 40:31 will meet them right where they are, walk alongside them, and remind them that they are seen, deeply loved, and never alone. Even in the hardest places, there is hope—and His name is Jesus.
Hope 40:31 exists to build a compassionate, Christ-centered community that fosters belonging, resilience, and hope through the love of Jesus—meeting people where they are, helping carry the hard things, and reminding them that they never have to walk alone.
This is more than a name change. It is the next chapter of a mission God has been shaping through real life, real struggle, real surrender, and real hope.
Hope for the weary.
Help for the hurting.
Faith for the hard places.
Jesus in the middle of it all.
