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chapelhill.porchcommunities.org |
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Hello!
Welcome to another edition of PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s quarterly newsletter, helping you stay up to date on everything happening within our organization.
It’s been quite busy around here! Get caught up on some of the latest headlines:
- In February, we welcomed our new board. We are so thrilled to have these brilliant minds at the helm of our organization. Get to know them here. We are always seeking new board/committee members. If you want to learn more about available opportunities, reach out to us at chc@porchcommunities.org.
- In March, Erica Brierley joined us as our full-time Program Manager. She will manage, maintain, and develop all aspects of our programs, including Food for Families, Food for Pantries, and Food for Schools. Erica has worked in policy research, environmentalism, domestic violence, volunteer management – and now hunger relief! Read more about Erica here.
- On Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m., a concert will be held at Judea Reform Congregation in Durham to benefit PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Paul and Cora Harrison of Chapel Hill are organizing the fundraising event in memory of their daughter Julia, who passed away 20 years ago. Learn more and RSVP here.
- Check out this profile on our partners at Carolina Cupboard, a student-run, on-campus food pantry at UNC that provides food at no cost to students who are facing food insecurity. It's an astonishing figure, but it is estimated that more than 22% of undergraduate and graduate students at UNC are facing food insecurity.
- In the first quarter of 2022, you – the residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro – donated $48,060 worth of non-perishable food items to PORCH. Tremendous work! Thank you! We are already preparing for the summer months, when donations typically decline a bit due to vacations and school breaks. We have posted all of our 2022 PORCH sort dates here. If you can pitch in, please do.
Read on for more exciting updates. And check our blog regularly to learn the latest developments. Thank you, as always, for being part of the PORCH community – your dedication to this work inspires us!
Best,
The PORCH Team
P.S. Our thanks to volunteer photographer Tom Simon for capturing many of the images in this newsletter!
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Meet Spanish Translator and Intrepreter Blanca Schusterman
Besides serving as the Neighborhood Coordinator for Creekwood in Chapel Hill, Blanca Schusterman interacts directly with new PORCH program participants to get them oriented over the phone. She also makes reminder calls and is the primary Spanish contact when participants have questions. Plus, she translates PORCH’s written materials.
“The families that I have met are all hardworking,” Blanca says. “They’ve just encountered obstacles. … The biggest obstacle is language. As a result, many families struggle to complete administrative tasks such as filling out forms. They also lack resources, such as reliable Internet access. Everyone needs a helping hand every once in a while.”
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A More Equitable Snack Time
Our Food for Schools (FFS) program, now in its seventh year, provides supplemental food to kids in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) who are hungry and struggling to concentrate in the classroom. Through FFS, PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro provides each school with $1,000 worth of snacks in a school year – $500 at the beginning of the school year and $500 after the holidays. FFS is funded by the generosity of local businesses, as well as civic organizations and a few individuals who sponsor the program. (See our list of sponsors here – and please thank them if you see them around town!)
PORCH launched this program because it’s proven that hunger impedes classroom performance, and teachers and social workers often purchase snacks for students using out-of-pocket funds. FFS takes the financial burden off of school staff while ensuring that school pantries are well-stocked with healthy snacks.
“What I mostly think of is how very painful it is to be hungry,” says Smith Middle School social worker Tina Moore. “When students come up for a snack, I often think how hard it must be for them to do work – to focus – when they’re hungry. I am so very grateful for this program. ... We really did need the snacks, and it was hard to find funding for it.”
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Donate to PORCH
In April, we distributed food to a record 508 families (2,133 individuals!) in our fresh Food for Families program. Participants received 40 pounds of fresh produce, two dozen eggs, gallons of milk, bags of nonperishable food, and $60 grocery gift cards.
We recently received this note from a Food for Families participant: “It means everything – life has been up and down these past few years. PORCH has fed my family when I couldn't. I want to say thank you to everyone."
Thank you to our volunteers, donors, and partners who make this work possible! Together, we truly make a difference in our community.
Can you make a gift today? A $5 gift provides milk and eggs for one family; $25 provides chicken, milk, and eggs for two families; $50 provides a 10-day supply of fresh food to one family; $300 sponsors a family for six months; and $600 sponsors a family for a year.
Go to our donate page to make your gift. Click on “recurring donation” if you wish to become a PORCH monthly sustainer. You can also mail a check payable to PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro to P.O. Box 16363, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-6363.
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PO Box 16363
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
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