COmmunity Cupboard Updates
We are all feeling the squeeze of inflation. As the cost of everything has escalated, so has food insecurity and the number of people struggling to afford household essentials such as laundry detergent, shampoo, toothpaste, and toilet paper, just to name a few. Over the last several months we have seen our monthly number of shopper spike by 18% over 2021. The average number of people being fed has increased by 10%. With their household stability in jeopardy, more people are needing our support…more often.
Our Community Cupboard budget has felt the strain of this increased demand. As a result, we are appealing to you, our supporters in the community. If you would like to contribute a one-time gift or a monthly gift please click the “Stock the Community Cupboard” button. Your support will help ensure all Cupboard offers are available to all shoppers, all of the time.
Chef's Best 2022
WE HAVE A WINNER!
As you know, we took Chef’s Best on “tour” this year and participants had six weeks to dine at four of West Chester’s premier restaurants: Slow Hand, Opa Taverna, Split Rail Tavern and Ram’s Head Bar and Grill. Diners were then asked to vote electronically for their favorites. We are excited to announce that for the 2nd time…despite the stiff completion…Ram’s Head Bar and Grill was the crowd favorite and 2022’s “Best of Chef’s Best”. In 2019, they won the Chef’s Best with their Asian Pork Taco but it was their lamb lollies with homemade chimichurri and balsamic reduction drizzle that dazzled the palates this year.
We are also thrilled to share that the event raised $10,000 for our mission!
On behalf of ACT in Faith and the community we serve, THANK YOU to our 2022 restaurants and all who were able to support the event.
MOVIN’, MOVIN’, MOVIN’
- A separate entrance for ACT in Faith
- Increased space for more volunteers
- A larger Community Cupboard
- Increased privacy for those seeking our support
- More storage
- Expansion of goods offered in our Community Cupboard
- Computer station for client use
- A dedicated “satellite” space for partner agencies to use when serving West Chester and homeless clients.
- Large group space for client trainings, meetings, and small events
- More volunteers to assume a greater portion of the routine client support, enabling staff to dedicate their attention to helping people with system and resource navigation, employment support, and overall case management
But wait there’s more!
Will will have “roommates!” Our partners at Parish Hall Kitchen will be joining with a new venture of their own and, the much-loved Holy Trinity Thrift Store (a.k.a. Catacomb Closet) will be moving into this space as well. ACT in Faith already partners with both organizations as shown in the graphic below.
You have walked with us on this journey over the last 11 years, and we can’t thank you enough. We hope that you share our excitement as we embark on the next leg of our mission, and realize our potential to better serve our community.
There is much to be done between now and Spring, 2022 – plans to be drawn up, decisions to be made, and details to be sorted. Stay tuned over the coming months.
Lives You've changed
“Patricia” is a single mother of 3 whom we met in 2018 when she needed rental assistance due to an isolated setback. Up until the pandemic, her income was adequate to pay her bills, with little to spare. In June 2020 she lost her job due to COVID and then struggled for many months to find income adequate to afford her very modest lifestyle.
Over that time we were able to prevent her from being evicted on 2 occasions, help her keep her car on the road so she could get to work, keep her electric on, and ensure she had food and household essentials for her family.
Just recently, “Patricia” finally secured a job that will soon allow her to pay her bills.
Your support afforded “Patricia” the gift of time – time to take whatever work she could find while looking for more adequate employment, while her family remained sheltered and fed. Without you, she and her children would most likely been evicted months ago.
When he came to us this year, “Jeb” was among the, too often, unseen homeless in our community. He was unemployed, unsheltered, and had nothing. We quickly referred him to 211, the County’s single point of entry for the shelter system and to the Human Services, Inc. street outreach team for case management in navigating other resources he needed.
Along the way we have provided him with a photo ID, cell phone, PO Box, bus passes, clothing, groceries, and job search support. We were also able to arrange for him to receive a much-needed eye exam and glasses.
Less than 2 months later, “Jeb” is safely sheltered, has a part time job while he continues to work with our staff to secure more gainful employment, and he can SEE! “Jeb” is overwhelmed and sincerely grateful for all of your support and he never misses an opportunity to share his appreciation.
We are only sad that you haven’t been here to personally witness “Jeb’s” transformation – once deflated, desperate, and lost, he is now engaged, optimistic, and once again believes in himself…and he can SEE!
OUR MISSION
Donor Impact: 2021
396 households (658 adults & 373 children) received assistance.
333 requests for services that help obtain or maintain employment were filled.
129 requests Housing Stabilization support were filled…preventing 50 evictions and 27 utility shut-offs.
dear diary...
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Thank YOU to our 2022 Partners
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Monday: 10:00 a.m. - Noon
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Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. - Noon
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Wednesday: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
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