Dear Friends,
Scroll down the page and you’ll see facts and figures from 2018, littering the page and showing you the impact of your investment. Stats are the currency for non-profits these days, proving the worth of the work that we engage in every day. We have dutifully dug through reports and spreadsheets of 2018 and regarded them from a distance, pulling out the numbers that speak clearly the activity of the year.
When our board and staff attempt to identify the reason why Community enCompass exists, we end up with phrases like “Neighborhood Transformation,” and “SHALOM in the City.” Lofty dreams for a rag-tag team of people who are often stumbling towards good. The year-end process of digging through data always makes me wonder..... how will we know once we’ve arrived? How will we know when our neighborhoods have been transformed and we taste SHALOM?
Neighbors learning how to grow food.
I heard a pastor once speak on Zechariah, Chapter 8. He painted a picture that helped me see how neighborhoods will look, feel, and act differently when they have been revitalized.
The old will be honored and the children will play freely. A revitalized neighborhood is a great place to grow old and a great place to grow up!
People will work together joyfully, hopefully, and productively. Economic opportunity!
Unity will be restored through the pursuit of truth and justice.
The rhythms of life will be marked by festivals of joy and gladness. Parties!
Others will sense the presence of God and seek God’s blessing there. People will begin to move back into the city’s neighborhoods and will approach the new place in a spirit of humility, ready to learn from those who have lived here for decades.
This is the picture of transformation that we seek for our neighborhoods, with our neighbors. This is the SHALOM that we long to live into. Humbly, we walk towards the vision of hope!
Together, seeking SHALOM in the City!
Sarah Rinsema-Sybenga,
Community enCompass Executive Director.
YOUTH
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT - YEP
YEP’s mentored 175 elementary students - YEP’s pioneered the first-ever Rotaract at Muskegon High School! Over 75% of the 2018 YEP graduates are now in college -16 YEP’s participated in a tour of 4 colleges - 45 YEP’s were trained and employed last summer earning a total of $65,000 for 7,000 hrs of work. YEP’s were trained in Photo Voice, rehabbing homes, urban farming, lawn maintenance and camp leadership.
READING BUDDIES
33 volunteers served 70 K-6 students from Nelson Elementary School, 35 hours a week
“Reading Buddies is a powerful program! Every child that worked with reading buddies this year made over their yearly growth. As a teacher it is so helpful to have other adults to sit and read one on one with my kids. There is just no substitute for that. We greatly appreciate our Reading Buddies!”
-Muskegon Public School Elementary Teacher
BETHANY HOUSING
68 working wage families/individuals were tenants of Bethany Housing Affordable Housing, and contributed to community life as neighbors.
HOMELESS SERVICES
1,482 households representing 4,770 neighbors experiencing evictions or homelessness received housing assessments and information to resolve their housing crisis - 559 neighbors experiencing homelessness or evictions were connected with a Housing Navigator to stabilize their housing crisis - $175,000 invested in short-term leasing assistance for to prevent or end homelessness.
HOUSING PLUS
13 neighbors transitioned from homelessness into supportive, affordable housing - 111 formerly homeless neighbors (including 45 children) participate in ongoing services.
SENIOR HOME OWNER ASSISTANCE
$110,000 invested in 21 homes in Muskegon which translated into new roofs, plumbing, windows, furnaces, water heaters, steps, flooring, and landscaping to help seniors age in place.
MUSKEGON PRESCRIBES FOOD FOR HEALTH - MPFH
46 neighbors graduated from MPFH, investing 12 hours in food education classes, learning to cook with fresh produce from McGrows, achieving their medical, nutritional, and social goals.
MCLAUGHLIN GROWS URBAN FARM
Grew & distributed 7,000 lbs. of food -and developed a third farm site, ready for 2019 production. Employed & trained 6 high school youth farmers who mentored 600 younger youth at the farm - Engaged over 450 volunteers.
McGrows has attended 41 Muskegon Farmers Markets, including Saturday markets and the Senior Power of Produce (over 1400 senior citizens registered for this program), held 16 on-site farm stand sales, instituted 28 weeks of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programming to close to 50 CSA members, donated 12 “McLaughlin Grows Food to Pantry Shares”, and delivered produce for 28 weeks to “Muskegon Prescribes Food for Health” participants. All told, that is 121+ moments of opportunity created by McLaughlin Grows for our community to interact with, learn about, and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm (and this does not include all the times our wonderful neighbors just dropped by when the gate was open!).
DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS STORE
104 neighborhood families shopped for 283 children - 36 neighbors volunteered - Received $5,800 in gift and donations from YOU!
SACRED SUDS
2,693 Neighbors visited Sacred Suds 9,795 times - “Broke bread” together over 3,865 lunches - Washed 4,054 loads of laundry - 1,494 showers - Completed 164 income tax returns (assisted by 2 rock-star volunteers, who brought back almost $140K into core city neighborhoods) - 166 neighbors volunteered over 4,600 hrs.
URBAN IMMERSION
10 women from Muskegon County Jail served at Community enCompass to reduce their time and learn new skills (2 gained employment with Community enCompass after graduating!) - 400 volunteers from local and national faith-based organizations, contributed over 90,000 hours rehabbing and beautifying core-city neighborhoods!.
