Today we’d like to introduce you to Rene Monnot.
Hi Rene, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hope and Vine began in 2018 as the social enterprise of a non-profit called Oh Lord Help Us. While taking classes to become foster parents, Rachael Smith and her husband learned that when a child turns 18, if they haven’t been adopted or reunited with their biological family, they “age out”, essentially becoming an adult overnight. Carrying the weight of this new discovery on their hearts, they began fostering. Rachael was working from home on a small jewelry business and writing ministry. Her jewelry business began and she needed to hire someone to help. It was at that moment she heard God whisper, “This is how you help. You give them the job.” God quickly led her to the young woman that would be the first artisan and from there she slowly built a safety net for women who have aged out. In 2021 the name was officially changed from Oh Lord Help Us, to Hope and Vine.
In 2020 I was teaching Pilates and someone I sang with in the praise and worship band at church asked me to donate a pilates package to the Goodness Gathering. I said yes not really knowing who Hope and Vine was so I went to the gala, which was virtual that year. It was the first time I had heard about aging out. I was also a fairly new certified Trauma Recovery Coach and was taking classes to further my training in trauma. I knew I had skills that could help them in someways but I wasnt sure what the need was. I reached out to Rachael after the event and offerred my time and my skills and from there began as a volunteer teaching nervous system regulation, boundaires, anxiety managment, and trauma education. In 2021 I came on as staff and began developing our programs and resources one girl at a time. I grew steadily alongside Hope and Vine and in 2025 when our founder decided to step down, took over as Executive Director. I love these girls and my job and can’t imagine doing anything else right now.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Goodness no, it has not been a smooth road. When I came on as staff, there was no programming or resources so I searched them out and built them into what it is today. It has been an act of love for me. that has taken lots of time, many hours unpaid, searching out concrete, real tools and resources. I wanted this program to be different. Not offering concepts of healing and growth, but actually getting the tools of healing and growth into their hands to empower them to build the life they want. Now as Executive Director, I am taking some time to examine the programs I built from a different lens and am making changes to strengthen them and make them more effective.
Working with women who have aged out of foster care puts you right in the middle of trauma. We are in the trenches with them and it has been a struggle for me to set boundaires around my time. I do this work because I love it and believe in it and that is hard to turn off sometimes.
Since August of 2025 we have been in a period of transition going from founder run to Executive Director run. It has been a huge process to start putting in formal systems and processes. Much of how we operated was dependant on our founder, even down to depending on her to design the jewelry. So I have had to create systems that anyone could step into and take on new roles in addition to the ones I was already doing. I am learning so much. Somedays it feels like drinking water from a fire hose. Other days, I am in awe of how blessed I am to get to do work I believe in and get to do life with these women.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Being creative is a huge part of who I am. For 15 years I ran a small furniture painting and design business while I raised my children. For as long as I can remember creativity has been not just a want, but a need. As ED for Hope and Vine, I get to create and design jewelry, t-shirts, candles, pillows, bags, and accessories. Everything in our store or online is handmade by our artisans-young women who have aged out of foster care. We specialize mainly in jewelry. Every item has meaning or a story and were all designed to be reminders of truth and pieces of encouragment. We are not just a jewlery store. We provide employment, life-skills, and mentoring for women who have aged out of foster care. So every time you buy from us, not only do you get an item with meaning, you are supporting these women and the work they are doing to change their futures.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Our mission is to faithfully walk alongside women who have aged out of foster care toward hope and healing, equipping them to break cycles and build healthy relationships. We do that through employment, life-skills classes, and mentoring. Women are hired as artisans who hand make all the items we sell online and in our booth inside The Cotton Company in down town wake forest. There are many ways to volunteer and those can be found online. You can do things as simple as donating beads , jewelry supplies or clothes Monday -Thursday 9-4. You can get involved by teaching in our life skills classes called The Inspiring Hope Collective. Those classes are currently on Tuesdays from 9-4 and cover 7 different areas needed to thrive, not just survive. We cover mental health, physical health, faith, finance, employment and education, relationship and community, and practical life skills. There are many levels of volunteering including serving on a committee and those can be found on our website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hopeandvine.org/pages/about
- Instagram: hope.and.vine
- Facebook: Hope + Vine
