JUNE 2020
B OARD OF DI RECTO RS
of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
Penny Heller Board Chair Kirstin Turner First Vice Chair Heather B. Ferguson Secretary John C. Elder Treasurer Bill Peterson Immediate Past Chair Lynda M. Murphy Member-At-Large Chris Oberlink Member-At-Large Matthew Constantine Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Bain Sean P. Bresnan John C. Castronuovo Thomas Frankel John P. Marasco Elizabeth Morales Tequisha Myles Cristina Nuñez de Landaluce Jeff Preston Garth E. Rosenkrance Dana Perez, Chief Financial Officer, ex-officio
Adopt-A-Family is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, charitable organization established in 1983. Our mission is to strengthen families with children in their efforts to achieve stability and self-sufficiency by providing access to all-encompassing services.
ADOPT-A-FAMILY RESPONDS TO COVID-19 CRISIS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY Adopt-A-Family has served low-income and homeless families in Palm Beach County for 37 years, but the COVID-19 crisis is the first pandemic that the agency has weathered alongside the community. As the health crisis descended on Palm Beach County, the agency mobilized to protect staff and clients, ensure continued service delivery, and double its efforts to prevent family homelessness.
Safety Measures
On March 13, Adopt-A-Family announced the closure of all offices for non-essential personnel. Within a week, all staff were fully equipped to work from home. Virtual staff meetings commenced, and CEO Matt Constantine began sending daily emails to keep the whole team connected and informed. Essential staff at the Homeless Resource Center, Program REACH shelter, and the Lake Worth headquarters were provided with masks, gloves, and sanitizer.
Uninterrupted Service Delivery
Adopt-A-Family ensured that the agency’s nine programs continued to operate uninterrupted by quickly implementing new safety protocols. Face-to-face case
management and therapy were replaced with phone calls and secure video conferences. As residential clients reported job and income loss, the agency provided food and gift cards, and assured residents that no one would lose their housing as a result of COVID-19. Project Grow adapted to provide educational support to students through frequent phone calls as well as a virtual summer camp that launched in June.
Expansion of Efforts to Prevent Homelessness
As the devastating economic impact of COVID-19 became apparent through a dramatic increase in calls for financial assistance, the Housing Stabilization Program (HSP) was identified as AdoptA-Family’s most effective response. HSP provides rent and utility assistance to families at risk of homelessness. Three additional staff members were hired and the HSP’s procedures were streamlined to double the program’s capacity in response to the crisis. Adopt-A-Family continues to adapt to the changing economic landscape of Palm Beach County to meet the needs of vulnerable families impacted by COVID-19.
A NOTE OF THANKS FROM OUR CEO As our nation weathers the coronavirus crisis, Adopt-A-Family is reminded of the incredible resolve, generosity, and selflessness of our community of supporters. As soon as the pandemic hit Palm Beach County, AdoptA-Family’s supporters rallied around our agency with financial support, donations of safety equipment, hot meals for the families we serve, and wise counsel. From private donors to established foundations, the grants, donations, and supplies you provided equipped us to quickly respond to the crisis. You immediately thought about the well-being of vulnerable families in our community and the safety of Adopt-A-Family’s staff and residents. Every dollar, hand-sewn mask, and call of encouragement reminded us that Adopt-A-Family is very fortunate to have the support of our community. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Families Provided with Emergency Rental Assistance
March 1 – May 31
March 1 – May 31
893 Calls
1,353 Calls
2019
Calls for Rental Assistance
2020
2020
2019
INCREASED DEMAND FOR AGENCY ASSISTANCE DUE TO COVID-19
29 Families
73 Families
Phone calls from households seeking emergency rental assistance doubled in April 2020 and have remained elevated ever since. The agency has received pleas for help from all sectors of the workforce: school employees, mechanics, retail workers, servers, medical assistants, hotel staff, and small business employees. For many, it is the first time they have ever had to seek financial assistance. With the help of generous supporters, the Housing Stabilization Program’s expansion enabled the program to provide emergency financial assistance to 73 Palm Beach County families, more than double the number served during the same time period in 2019.
BUCCAN PROVISONS PROVIDES HUNDREDS OF MEALS FOR AAF FAMILIES
KIND DONORS EQUIP CLIENTS & STAFF WITH MASKS AND DISINFECTANT
Countless families in our area are grappling with food insecurity as a result of COVID-related income loss. A recent survey of Project Grow parents revealed that 80% of families did not have enough food in their home. A collective of chefs from West Palm Beach helped Adopt-A-Family respond to this pressing need. Buccan Provisions, the new nonprofit division of the restaurant group behind Buccan, Grato, and Imoto, was formed to provide high-quality meals to the community’s most vulnerable residents: families in need, the elderly, the recently unemployed, members of the medical community, and first responders. The group continues to prepare and deliver hundreds of meals each week for Program REACH, Project Grow, and residential families. We are grateful for their ongoing commitment to providing meals to the community.
Adopt-A-Family received an outpouring of support in the form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our clients and staff. In March, three donors stepped forward to provide face masks for the agency. In April, Family Church Jupiter made 70 adult and children’s masks for the families in our Program REACH shelter, and the masks arrived just as supplies were starting to run low. In May, the agency received numerous carloads of disinfectant wipes and KN95 and N95 masks from Derek Assaf on behalf of Markee Music and Ridenour Cares. What’s more, Adopt-A-Family received beautiful hand-sewn masks from an out-of-state donor. These donations equipped agency staff and clients to safely navigate life in the midst of the pandemic. Thank you to each donor for your kindness and support.
THIRD AVENUE HOMES UPDATE
Adopt-A-Family is happy to report that the construction of Third Avenue Homes progressed according to schedule despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. Landscaping and irrigation were completed, the parking lot was striped, and gates and a walking path were installed. One of the final milestones of the 18-month-long project was the addition of new furniture, thanks to the generosity of a longtime agency supporter. The community center will be finished by the end of June, and Adopt-A-Family will then receive the official Certificates of Occupancy. Project Manager Corey O’Gorman told us “The Third Avenue Homes project exemplifies the new urban standards that designers and planners are trying to achieve.” The overwhelming community support for Adopt-A-Family’s Hope Begins with a Home capital campaign brought Third Avenue Homes to life. Adopt-A-Family is grateful for the community’s resounding support for this new model that pairs housing and education. Although COVID-19 slowed the referral process, Adopt-A-Family eagerly awaits the day when all 14 units are filled with families who have been given the gift of hope and a home.
YES! $25
$50
PROJECT GROW GOES VIRTUAL Adopt-A-Family was determined to provide camp this summer despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. Project Grow launched a dynamic virtual camp in June, and the kids participate on their brand new Chromebook computers. Thanks to the incredible supporters of Project Grow, all 37 families received a new computer to give each student dependable access to camp. From the safety of their homes, the students participate in Project Grow’s live enrichment lessons, virtual field trips, and exciting activities including poetry, yoga, and coding. The Project Grow team has worked hard to stay connected to the students ever since they had to close in mid-March. Teachers called the students several times per week to help them navigate virtual learning platforms and provide homework assistance. Group video chats helped maintain classroom camaraderie. Because the majority of parents lost some or all of their income due to the crisis, teachers linked the families to meal delivery programs, gift cards, and assistance programs to ensure their stability. Everyone at Adopt-A-Family eagerly awaits the day that our classrooms are full of children again.
I would like to make a difference in the lives of families who are experiencing homelessness by contributing the following:
$100
$500
Donor’s Choice $
Check here to designate your gift to Adopt-A-Family’s COVID-19 response efforts. Make your tax-deductible contribution to Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches Mail your donation to Adopt-A-Family in the enclosed envelope. Give online at www.adoptafamilypbc.org Name (please print):
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A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH2076
Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc. 1712 Second Avenue North Lake Worth, FL 33460-3210 Phone: (561) 253-1361 www.adoptafamilypbc.org facebook.com/AAFPBC Twitter - @aafpbc Instagram - @aafpbc
35TH ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING CELEBRATION Adopt-A-Family’s historic 35th annual Tree Lighting Celebration exceeded all expectations. On December 3, 2019, the event raised well over $600,000, a remarkable testimony to the generous benefactors who attended the event to support the agency’s work to prevent family homelessness. Over 230 guests attended the soldout event at a private club in Palm Beach. The Kings Academy Choir serenaded arriving guests with 2019 Tree Lighting Chairs holiday classics. The attendees Jen Dudnyk and enjoyed Brenda McGarrity cocktail hour, a silent auction, and an exciting live auction. The event committee, chaired for the second consecutive year by longtime agency supporters Brenda McGarrity and Jen Dudnyk, curated 361 auction items and the event’s signature live orchid arrangements. The gourmet dinner featured a moving testimony from a father of four whose family was saved from homelessness through AdoptA-Family’s programs.
Tree Lighting,” he said. “The most striking is this – just as in 1984, we are surrounded by a group of people who not only care, but are determined to make a difference in the lives of countless families they will never meet.” Tree Lighting provides vital support for Adopt-A-Family’s operations and nine programs every year, but the funds raised at the 2019 event proved essential to the agency’s ability to respond to COVID-19. The overwhelming generosity of the event attendees granted Adopt-A-Family the ability to safely, swiftly, and confidently respond to the crisis. The support positioned Adopt-AFamily to become a first responder to the economic impact of the pandemic on low-income families, and the agency is incredibly grateful to every Tree Lighting donor who made that possible.
Adopt-A-Family CEO Matt Constantine commemorated the 35th annual event with reflections on the agency’s first Tree Lighting Celebration. “There are a great deal of similarities between this evening and our first
SAVE THE DATE – DEC. 1, 2020 THE 36TH ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING CELEBRATION The 36th Annual Tree Lighting Celebration will take place on December 1, 2020. Chairs Beth Hennessy and Nancy Kalaher are working with the Tree Lighting Committee to explore options to safely carry on Adopt-A-Family’s treasured annual tradition. Stay tuned for details!