Emmanuel Episcopal Church - Four Youth School Pantries
Final Grant Report for
Fiscal agent if applicant is not tax exempt:
Tax ID Number:
38-2307700
Contact First Name:
Contact Last Name:
Kathy
Petersen
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 1020 East Mitchell Street, Petoskey, MI 49770
Address:
Email:
202-285-1392 or 231-622-8044
Phone Number:
Project Name:
Northmen Dens, Harbor Hut & Lakeview Academy School Pantries
Project start and end dates:
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Friday, June 4, 2021
Amount Granted From Hestia:
$
4000
Project results and Impact
How many girls/women have been served by the project during this project year?
Around thirty-three to fifty girls ages, 11 to 18 have been served each week. Due to COVID restrictions, our 4 youth pantries have shifted to
Emmanuel's basement. We created an online ordering page for the students to fill out with the toiletries they like, need, and want. It's been a
strange year, with 25% of the students signing up and then leaving. We
(or counselors) receive emails from parents and students saying they
don't need to use the online form due to parents going back to work.
That was not the case before COVID-19, when our students were all
eligible for the FREE or Reduced Cost Lunch Program. We believe the
girls who would sign up and then leave were from the middle class who
might have been living paycheck to paycheck but did not need
supplemental food or toiletries to live on. All the girls appreciated
the toiletries and feminine products we provided each month for
themselves and their sisters/cousins, and mothers. Each month we would
give feminine products enough for 8 days to each girl without waiting to
hear from them that they needed them.
Goal of the Project
Did you meet your program goals for the grant period?
If yes, how do you know? Please describe any program evaluation you use:
If no, please describe current barriers and how you are working to overcome them:
We could not do a survey this year with our students. The counselors kept in contact with us and told us how appreciated the students were when picking up their grocery orders from them. We were not allowed to see the students only to deliver the bags to the schools and leave. It was so sad when we would see a few of our students in the halls and could not talk to them. They would wave to us. It was so sterile. Even the counselors told us that the students missed our wonderful volunteers, so much. We had so many new students who would come and leave when their parents would return to work. Our numbers were down but we sent home more bags knowing we were feeding not only the student but family members too.
Do you have a story of how your program positively changed participant's situation, behavior, or knowledge?
If so, please share it:
One middle school girl and her brother and younger sister were removed
from their parents' care in Iowa to move to Petoskey to live with a
relative. This relative was approved by the State but receives the
federal SNAP program and signed up for the Free Lunch program for each child. The 8th grade girl checked all 150 items on the Online Order
Form, including toilet paper and laundry detergent. Her counselor told
us when she received her first three bags of groceries; her eyes got
wide when she peeked in one of them and said, "OH, shampoo, a
hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste. How did they know? Thank you."
It was like a secret Santa knew what she needed and wanted.
She's never been to the actual Pantry but still feels our unconditional
care for the volunteers write notes to each child in one of their bags. Our
volunteers miss the students. More importantly, the counselors report
the students miss the volunteers who provided such unconditional love to
each child. Joan H., one of our dedicated volunteers, occasionally
asks out loud to us, as we are making the bags, "where are all the
students?" - we hope to find them in the fall.
Sustainability
Will this project continue?
If so, how will it be funded?
If not, why not?
Our four youth pantries will continue and will be funded through
individual, corporate, businesses, and grant support. Our donors are
growing each year. We are in the process of becoming a not-for-profit
entity that will allow us to write grants on our tax ID rather than the
Emmanuel Episcopal Church's tax ID. Donors will be more willing to write
a donation to a charity rather than a church. We have received our
Articles of Incorporation from the State of Michigan. We are now
applying to the IRS for our not-for-profit status. It might take 2-8
months to acquire it. We will keep you posted. But, in the meantime,
Emmanuel is still our fiscal agent. We are excited for the future for
these students - we have two exciting new programs to offer these most
vulnerable young girls.
Public Relations
How did you publicize this grant?
Please list any examples.
Unfortunately, our printing company was hit hard by staff shortage and
so we could not get any newsletters out. Our Hunger Hurts campaign
was supposed to be sent in September but did not get printed until
December 15. So, many people did not get in time to give us a 2020 donation. But, we did okay. A newsletter is at the printer now and will be sent out in a few days with your Hestia Giving Circle logo on our Donor Page.
Summary Comments
I read the other day from a national not for profit e-newsletter for at
risk students that there are over 3 million students who are missing
from the roles of public schools. They worry that many will not be
returning if they are over sixteen. Jon Wilcox, MS Principal, told me
with a sad look on his face, that "this year was no way to teach a child."
We pray that school will be opened in the fall and the Youth Pantries
will be back in action providing hope for these children. These most
vulnerable students have lived a year of isolation, fear and emotional
anxiety that some will never recover from due to physical and emotional
abuse they endured alone. Thank you for your support. You are a gift to this community.
Grant Final Budget Form
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