Meet Hope England

Hope is a comedic writer and performer, an improviser, an actress, an empath, a lover of humanity, and an overall life enthusiast.  Her recent work includes a stint at The Second City, The Voice, and corralling young kids and molding young minds in children’s theaters. This work combined with her love of comedy and volunteering in children’s hospitals, lead her to found the non profit Humor for Hope which uses improvisational comedy as a form of therapy to reach out to those who, due to their illnesses, are not able to interact in groups within a social setting. Humor for Hope began on an isolation floor of a children’s hospital and continues to grow exponentially, bringing laughter and healing to many.

 Q+A

What do you know for sure? 

Everyone is a lesson, a story, a unique and wondrous perspective on the chaos that is human existence. The purpose of life is to live it, taste it, savor it, and to reach out eagerly for connection and newer richer, organic, authentic experiences.  No one is really sure why they are alive until they are sure of what they would die for. The simplest things bring the most pleasure.  Journey changes you, and it should change you. Passion changes. everything. You are on a sometimes remarkable, sometimes terrible, sometimes beautiful, strange and always completely unknown, journey. Worrying about what happens next will ruin the surprise.

There is nothing like the healing effect of laughter.  Life is hard but it feels good to grow. Some things will be good, some things will be bad, neither will last forever. Nothing will stay the same. I know that women are remarkable, powerful human beings. Sunshine is delicious and rain is refreshing. The laughter of a child, the tender nuzzle of a dog, the ocean breeze, stars, a good hug, the smell of Autumn, laughing until your stomach is sore, living now, and giving generously, this is what it’s all about. 

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection. The more I learn, the less I know. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. Someday this will all come to an end and it won’t matter where you’re from, what you wore, or how much you made.  Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. I know we can’t relate to others without a heart or reach into the depths of life without a soul. Nothing is trivial or without relevance. Your vulnerability will connect you to the rest of our suffering world and your creativity will set you free. Living a life full and free is worth fighting for. Life isn’t about taking…it’s about giving back.

What inspires you? 

Bravery. Rebellion. Art. Challenging the norm. Nature. Collaboration. The power of possibility. The lure of the unknown. The human potential for good. You.

What makes you laugh? 

Children. Honesty. Observational humor. My four extremely inappropriate, insanely sarcastic brothers. 

What do you believe in? 

Higher consciousness. Ruthlessly being yourself. Changing the world with tenderness. Loving with your whole heart. I believe that every breath is a second chance to create the world we want to live in. Energy drains, soul sucks, and debbie downers are like getting graham crackers for dessert. Pass! If if doesn’t lift you up, you probably don’t need it.

A little known fact about yourself? 

I once got arrested for stealing a cow. -IT’S NOT IMPORTANT!

Want more? Check out Humor for Hope or follow h4h on Facebook. 

Follow Humor for Hope’s journey this summer while working alongside Paul Newman’s camp for terminally and chronically ill children on

Photo Credit: Michelle Lytle Photography