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Dear Friends,
Twice as many families as the year before!
Once the summer construction was complete, we noticed more and more families
joining us per program, starting with our Back-to-School programs and continuing
through the holidays. We knew our attendance in Sunday Friends programs had doubled,
but weren’t completely sure it would all extend into the new year.
(In the past, we have always seen a drop in January). Yet, over 300 people
flooded into our first program of 2008 and even more came for the second program,
held on a cold and rainy day. We can see that our growth will continue.
There are a number of reasons why new families are joining Sunday Friends and why returning families are choosing not to miss programs:
1. A growing community spirit: I want to tell you what
moves me the most: It is the recognition that so many of us can come together twice a month and create and sustain a collaborative and supportive community. When over 300 people of various ages, ethnicities and backgrounds assemble, you might not expect the blending that you see in Sunday Friends. Yet, the scene every program day is one of productivity and positive interaction and the feeling is one of warmth and inclusion. If you haven’t visited one of our programs yet, I hope you’ll arrange to come see it and feel it for yourself. Our families and our volunteers are showing what is possible.
2. Families are building self-sufficiency: Our participating families tell us – and tell their friends - that, thanks to the opportunities afforded by Sunday Friends, they can make ends meet most months. They can earn the diapers and the laundry detergent through our program, which allows them to stay in housing while they build the skills they will need for the long-term. As the current economy squeezes more hard-working but very-low-income families, we are happy to help these families find stability.
3. More education:
Our ESL classes are bursting at the seams with 35 - 40 dedicated students each program. With more help from bilingual volunteers, our families are now writing over 700 personal letters per program – and, compared to last year, twice as many are in English. Our new
nutrition classes,
taught by Patricia Kakunted, a Registered Dietician from Gardner Family Services, attracted over 50 students right off the bat – and the family members couldn’t stop asking questions! And, we are continually increasing our innovative education in
math, preschool development, health, financial literacy
and
reading.
4. More incentives to earn and to save: Our Sunday Friends Bank now pays interest on savings so children and their parents are more focused on saving. And there’s more to save for, thanks to many generous donors. One great example is the refurbished bikes that are donated every month by the
Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange. Those bikes – and other valuable donations - really teach children to work towards a goal!
5. Bigger spaces: Thank you thank you to the wonderful San Jose Unified School District for hosting our programs within their now-larger facilities. We are making good use of the extra space!
There’s also something new happening behind-the-scenes at Sunday Friends.
While our program is growing in size and in features, our Sunday Friends Board of Directors is focusing on how to strengthen our organization for the long-term so we can sustain the growth. The Board has undertaken an in-depth Strategic Planning process to determine how we can bolster our fundraising and infrastructure to support the expansion while we continue to pay full attention to maintaining the values and the quality of Sunday Friends, including the directness, the low overhead, the integrity and the commitment to our mission.
As part of the Strategic Planning, board members have been interviewing community supporters, seeking feedback and advice. In fact, you might be a perfect person for us to interview next!
Email me and let me know if you’d like to lend us half an hour for a conversation. You can help us grow responsibly.
Our twelfth year of service within our community
is off to a promising start and we’re excited about what’s ahead. Many thanks to all of you who helped us meet our fundraising goal for 2007 so we could start 2008 strong. Of course, we continue to count on your support throughout the coming year, too, starting now.
Please help. You can donate online through this website right away.
We have added a new donation option –
Google Checkout – that will allow 100% of your contribution to reach Sunday Friends. Try it out.
And please know how much I appreciate you.
You make our work and our thriving community possible. We tell our families: “What’s important is that you give what is in you to give. That’s what makes a community work”. Thank you for everything you choose to give.
With love,
P.S. You can contribute to The Working Alternative To Charity
every time you shop. Sign up for
eScrip! It's a fast, free and easy way to make a donation whenever you use your credit card.
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