TEAM REPORT
SPRING 2021
2020 - WHAT A YEAR! This was a year to navigate a changing world,
and in the midst of it all, the Aaron Judge ALL RISE Foundation successfully adapted our events and schedules to manage a year like no one could ever imagine. Even during the 2020 world-wide pandemic – our mission statement and passion drove us to stay the course and get creative.
The restrictions established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, brought our in-person events to an end. The time usually spent out of the office turned into creative and productive time in the office. We had the opportunity to focus on the development of our infrastructure, administrative tasks, and protocols. Our business software platforms, to handle our financial and creative needs, became more familiar to us. Our Board of Directors held their first strategic planning meeting, our first internal financial audit to stay in compliance with best practice standards, as well as, thought outside the box to discover new ways to continue our mission both during, and after, the pandemic. We also used this unexpected time to develop a marketing team to expand our base and be strategic in telling our story. We created the Team Report, a quarterly newsletter to keep you up to date on our activities, developed strategies to increase our audience on social media, as well as improve our website. Additionally, we were able to support and provide the opportunity for our Aspiring Leaders to attend virtual youth leadership training events. We also continued our outreach to children and youth in our community - distributing mini-grants to several youth organizations while we were all masked up and
practicing social distancing. The AJARF was also the signature sponsor of the Stockton Emergency Food Bank Walk for Hunger “virtual” event. Even though active fundraising was halted, donations arrived in a steady flow to keep us up and running. Financial support came from Aaron’s business partners, small and large businesses, family, friends, and new friends. The Foundation is thankful for all of this support.
“We will ‘hit it out of the park’ in 2021 and 2022!”
We have missed having one-on-one, face-to-face, and large group activities to inspire children and youth to become responsible citizens. The AJARF used these unfortunate circumstances in 2020 to forge ahead, establishing new initiatives and strengthening our existing programs that allow us to expand into Fresno County, California and Bronx County, New York. Welcome to our family!
We are well into 2021 and still facing restrictions that affect our lives. We will continue to be focused, creative, flexible, and determined to reach as many children and youth as possible. Thank you to our volunteers, donors, Marketing Team, and Board of Directors for helping us get through 2020 and for being on our team. Let’s “hit it out of the park” in 2021 and 2022! Thank you for being on our team.
Patty Judge Patty Judge, Aaron’s Mom Executive Director, Aaron Judge ALL RISE Foundation