On May 19, I shared a personal story at our annual Caring for Kids (CfK) Breakfast — view it here. CfK, the foundational program of Great Expectations (GE), provides access and funding to quality early child care education and family support. And GE is our community’s collaborative response to educational inequities. Unfortunately, I did not […]
Kevin Ward
Great expectations of what we can do together
Dear Friends, With the month of Ramadan soon coming to a close, Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors who are observing. We look forward to wishing each of you Eid Mubarak in the days to come! May this be a meaningful time for families, friends and the wider community. As the academic school year is […]
Changing to meet client community needs
Interfaith Outreach continues to respond to emergency needs while addressing the root causes of poverty. As part of our continuous improvement process, Interfaith recently re-organized its case management services into smaller, more specialized teams. Areas of focus include: Client welcoming Emergency financial assistance Short- and long-term case management Early childhood development Housing Our Employment Services […]
The new normal
In February 2020, staff leaders met to prepare our response to a “worst case scenario” in which COVID-19 reached our community. By late March, our staff had pivoted to working remotely while continuing to provide services to families in need. We reimagined ways to distribute food, helped families navigate newly created systems to deal with unemployment, and […]
Love became a verb
In recognition of Black History Month, I’d like to share a story. On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. More than 250,000 civil rights supporters listened to the iconic speech. Dr. King was not prepared to share or talk about […]
Your support creates a sense of belonging here
Brené Brown, world-renowned researcher, spent years studying and interviewing people about the things that really matter: vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame. When she asked what people were worried about and trying to achieve, it was the idea of belonging that was most important. Many yearn to “be part of something – to experience real connection […]