Helping Families and Communities Make the Journey out of Poverty
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MERCER STREET FRIENDS ANNUAL REPORT Bridging opportunity gaps… helping families and communities make the journey out of poverty. 151 Mercer Street, Trenton, NJ 08611 • 609-396-1506 www.mercerstreetfriends.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Dear Friends, FISCAL YEAR 2014 was a year of self-reflection and self-evaluation for Mercer Street Friends. In response to increasing need 2013-2014 throughout the Greater Mercer County community, we have asked “How can we do more”? FINANCES We excel at engaging “difficult to engage” youth and adults and we have well-established programs which combine assessment, evidence based home visiting and parent education to reduce child abuse and neglect and increase maternal health outcomes. We have expanded to include home environmental screenings, support groups for mothers at-risk for post partum depression, and parental stress reduction groups aimed at reducing out of home child placement. Building upon our success providing life skills, employment training and job INCOME placement to youth and adults, we spearheaded an initiative which bridges ■ Government Support .....................36% the digital divide by providing computers and internet access to economically ■ Gain on Sale of Assets* ................ 21% disadvantaged families as well as teaching youth information technology skills ■ Contributions ................................20% that they will need to compete in the marketplace. ■ Service Fees ...................................18% Through the addition of our child hunger, summer feeding and senior/family ■ Change in Value of Investments ......3% mobile pantry programs, we are finding increasingly innovative ways to lead the ■ Miscellaneous Income .....................2% community response to hunger throughout Mercer County. We are also bringing much needed attention to the food insecurity that exists in communities with higher per capita incomes. Despite these successes, we still ask, “How can we do more?” Building on the work of the West Ward Alliance, we have deepened our community impact through a partnership with the Trenton school board to create the Community Schools Initiative. The goal is to integrate our expertise in family engagement, child development, reducing hunger, breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect with the school system’s expertise in educating children. The expected EXPENSES ■ outcome is children freed up to learn because their non-academic needs are being Home Health Care .........................24% ■ met, and teachers freed up to teach because their students can be more focused General and Administration ..........18% and engaged. ■ Food Bank ..................................... 17% ■ Preschool ....................................... 17% Any good evaluation gives thoughtful consideration to weaknesses as well. ■ Parenting and Adult ...................... 16% “How can a large and diverse organization become more agile?” we asked. ■ “How can we do a better job at communicating with our partners, supporters, Youth Services .................................5% and friends?” In 2014, we launched our Resource Development Council, held ■ Fundraising .....................................2% a large scale fundraising event, and began work on an Advocacy Committee. ■ Other ...............................................1% Perhaps most significantly, we made strides towards more effective and consistent communication. We now have a consistent social media presence and a new website. We are sending out monthly e-blasts and are proud of our new *In October 2013, Mercer Street Friends sold its Home Health Care Division and the property and buildings newsletter that merges our previous publications “Circle of Friends” and “Table that form the campus of the Village Charter School. Talk” into “Friends Talk”. Our newly adopted strategic plan charts a clear path towards our future, and it is truly our future. You, our supporters, enable the work of “bridging opportunity gaps…helping families and communities make the journey out of poverty.”. Thank YOU! Shannon M. Mason, Ph.D Executive Director 2 2014 HIGHLIGHTS FOOD BANK FOOD DISTRIBUTION ■ Secured 2.5 million pounds of food and groceries for hunger relief; 95% of the food fell within recommended nutritional guidelines. ■ Supplied food to 55 food pantries • Samaritan Baptist Church and meal sites: • St. Raphael – Holy Angels Parish • The Victorious Church • Abundant Life Christian Center • Trenton Area Soup Kitchen • Amani House • Trenton Deliverance Center • Anchor House • Trinity Episcopal Cathedral • ARC Mercer • Turning Point United Methodist Church • Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist Church • United Progress, Inc. • Cadwalader-Asbury United Methodist Church • UPI Transitional Housing • Catholic Charities – Emergency Services • Urban Promise ■ Fruits and Vegetables ....................42% • Catholic Charities – New Choices ■ Protein ...........................................34% • Catholic Charities – Partners in Recovery SUMMER FEEDING ■ • Celestial Church of Christ ■ Closed summer meal gaps for 100 Grains ............................................ 16% • Christ Presbyterian Church ■ Dairy ................................................3% • Community Action Service Center/RISE low-income children and provided a ■ Sweets ..............................................3% • Crisis Ministry – Hanover Street wholesome breakfast and lunch and Send ■ Fats ..................................................1% • Crisis Ministry – Nassau Street Hunger Packing weekend meal packs. • Crisis Ministry – South Clinton Avenue ■ Other ...............................................1% • Divine Mercy Food Pantry SNAP OUTREACH • East Trenton Center at Habitat for Humanity ■ Assisted 171 households with applying • Faith Deliverance Cathedral for SNAP benefits. Average benefit was The Food Bank launched its • Family Preservation Center (HomeFront) $163.53 a month. Mobile Pantry, a new initiative • First Haitian Church of God aimed at reaching families and • First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury COMMUNITY • First Presbyterian Church of Morrisville seniors who face food hardships but • Griggs Farm ENGAGEMENT are unable to go to a food pantry due • HomeFront Pantry ■ Supported by 900 volunteers who gave to mobility, transportation or work • Isles Inc. YouthBuild 5,611 hours of volunteer time. schedule conflicts. Volunteers and staff • Jewish Family and Children’s Services assemble containers filled with food • Lawrence Community Center SEND HUNGER PACKING • Meals on Wheels of Trenton/Ewing ■ Partnered with 12 schools and staples, fresh produce, dairy items • Mercer Street Friends Mobile Pantry and poultry that are delivered to low- provided 17,800 Send Hunger Packing • Mercer Street Friends Parent Child weekend meal packs that went to 550 income housing sites. Last year, close Center West to 200 qualified families received • Mercer Street Friends Preschool children facing food hardships at home. 30 to 40 lbs. of food each delivery. • Mount Carmel Guild • Anteil Elementary School, Ewing • New Covenant United Methodist Church • Lore Elementary School, Ewing • New Hope Church of God • Parkway Elementary School, Ewing • NJ Conference Adventist Community • Fisher Middle School, Ewing Service Center • Slackwood Elementary School, Lawrenceville • Primera Iglesia Pentecostal Alpha & Omega • Klockner Elementary School, Hamilton • Princeton Deliverance Center • Community Park Elementary School, Princeton • Rescue Mission of Trenton • Johnson Park Elementary School, Princeton • Restoration Outreach Christian Kare Center • Littlebrook Elementary School, Princeton • Resurrection Lutheran Church • Riverside Elementary School, Princeton, • Sacred Heart Church • Princeton Nursery School, Princeton • Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center • Mercer Street Friends Preschool, Trenton • Salvation Army (Canteen) 2014 HIGHLIGHTS 3 PRESCHOOL ■ Educated and nurtured 90 children, is particularly prevalent in low-income ages three to five, at our fully accredited communities. early education center during the ■ In addition to on site meals, the school year. preschoolers received a weekend ■ 40 children were able to attend our “Kids Kits” food pack from the MSF summer program, minimizing the Food Bank. summer learning gap, a problem that YOUTH SERVICES of 25 parents how to use a computer for job searches, résumé building, homework help and for accessing useful sites for parenting and child development information and then provided them with free computers. ■ Engaged 71 youth in life and are pursuing undergraduate and found the computer vocational skills training programs graduate learning in psychology, to teach and practice skills needed social work and theology. program to be a benefit for success in social relationships, for my whole family. employment and academics. Topics TRENTON I included communications, goal DIGITAL INITIATIVE With what I learned setting, college preparation and ■ Secured donations of 359 workplace etiquette. used computers. and with the computer I ■ Following the training phase, 52 youth ■ Refurbished 139 computers with the received, I am able to pay were placed in internships to apply what help of four adult volunteers and 28 my bills, my three-year-old they learned and explore career interests. Youth Services program participants who plays educational games ■ Supported 17 youth who received were taught how to clean the computers individual or family clinical counseling and install new software. and my nine-year-old does services to address