Thanks to the individual donors and foundations who help fund our work, we were able to meet the increased need triggered by the pandemic and sustained by its economic effects.
With your support, we continue:
Addressing food insecurity
Our Meals on Wheels program provides 7 nutritious, home-delivered meals to more than 2,000 seniors each week. Menus include hot and frozen meals, as well as vegetarian, Latin American, and kosher options. Senior center members can also access meals to “Grab and Go” at our center or enjoy them in our socially distanced dining room. Pantry items are offered weekly, and our Soup’s Up program, which launched this summer, is already serving nearly 200 households with health-conscious, easy-to-prep meal kits.
Serving seniors
Before we reopened our facilities this summer, we provided full, virtual services to more than 2,000 clients, with 1,394 clients receiving case assistance, 135 receiving financial counseling/assistance, 180 receiving healthcare management/assistance, and 867 participating in recreational/educational activities.
With covid-19 precautions in place, our center is now bustling again, with indoor activities like yoga, barre class, table games, and discussion groups. We have at least 2 full-time social workers onsite each day, as well as in-person nursing, health coaching, and technology assistance.
Providing pathways for young adults
Though educational programming was entirely virtual, 8 earned their high-school equivalency, and 20 grade gains were made in reading and math.
Even in a fully remote setting, our culinary arts training program is on track to significantly eclipse every performance target. Our Community Kitchen and Soup’s Up programs employ young adult graduates of this program to support our increased kitchen output.
Our scholarship program helped 18 students pursue a college degree and our mentor program engages recipients with young professionals from our junior board. We are assembling an alumni advisory council to center the voice of the underrepresented job seeker in program development, and launching a managerial apprenticeship so that program alumni can cultivate marketable skills.
We placed 159 participants in jobs.
Supporting school children
Our Beacon after school programs faced multple challenges, including reaching students and families after the onset of the pandemic, engaging children in virtual learning, and dealing with school closures even once students returned to classrooms. Our staff focused heavily on providing social and emotional supports to children and their families.
Events engaged 475 participants, however, and 200 elementary students moved up a grade on time. We are preparing to launch in early 2022 the Jack August Learning Program, a privately-funded, comprehensive, partner-based, multi-year program for children and their families. More details will follow.
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