CityServe Kern County www.cityservekerncounty.com 661-632-6478 robin@cityserve.us
Congratulations to the 2020 Chairman's Award Winner!
W
inning the Beautiful Bakersfield Chairman's Award means so much to CityServe. Though we are a new nonprofit, CityServe is and has been since day one, 100 percent for the community. It means a lot to us how the work of the faith community is being recognized for its impact on people's lives. When people feel loved and cared Robin Robinson for, and their needs are seen and met, it makes a lasting change. We at CityServe don’t have all the answers, nor does the local church. We’re surrounded by other incredible nonprofits, businesses and agencies that are serving each day with the same heart as ours. Nothing is done alone. We are grateful to play a part in Bakersfield and Kern County. CityServe Kern County is a collaborative network of churches and community leaders connected to help those in need to live better lives. CityServe empowers the local church to fulfill its purpose to overcome despair and transform lives by resourcing them with tangible goods and capacity building. CityServe brings the church to the table to address community challenges by offering long-lasting relationships that lead to transformation. In the past year, the faith community has been able to serve an extraordinary number of families, who are food insecure or lack basic household items. Families who live in remote, isolated and rural areas, many times do not have transportation or the ability to get to where food is distributed. Within almost every neighborhood, there is a local church. CityServe resources our churches, across different denominations, to do one thing: Love their neighbor. CityServe is underneath the local church engaging, resourcing and encouraging them to be a place of not only help, but of hope and support. The church should be an ongoing connection and support to the neighborhood around them. Building a relationship with families in need with return visits is the catalyst that leads people to make sound choices as they navigate through life’s hardships. Throughout 2020, we have been able to reach deep into the community and connect with households that are often unseen, left behind or forgotten. They are the unsheltered, families with young children, seniors, single parents, grandparents raising their grandchildren, and people working multiple jobs to make ends meet. CityServe has partnered with Kern County Public Health for two years in Waste Hunger, Not Food, a school food rescue program. Though the pandemic has slowed down the program, we have moved forward with a plan for a greater impact in the days ahead. A walk-in cooler has recently been completed in our downtown warehouse for the program as we prepare to rescue more unopened, METRO | PAGE 8
fresh, nutritious foods to feed households experiencing food insecurity. In May, CityServe Kern County was named a “Community of Opportunity and Faith” by the United States Department of Agriculture. This opened the door for us to receive food boxes from the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Since June, we have received 41 trucks, 63,765 boxes and have been able to help 23,991 families. These boxes contain fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, eggs and milk. What a blessing it is to distribute the food boxes through our local neighborhood churches and other community organizations, such as the MLK Initiative and The Mission at Kern County. We are beginning round four of the food box program, which will take us through December. Beyond food, we have been able to provide basic household items from our in-kind supply chain to meet other needs in the community. With a referral system in place, we receive names of people in need from county and city agencies, health care providers, local responders, schools, and other local organizations. Another incredible opportunity to serve the community is in the new M Street Navigation Center, where we train volunteers to work in different capacities. We have seen lives changed in front of our eyes. In our partnership with Bakersfield College and Project HireUp, other opportunities for impact have been created. Through the CityServe Educational Collaborative Center, we can offer educational classes, along with life skills wrap-around classes, mentors, support and encouragement to many who have never had an opportunity to go to school. This program is entirely driven by community collaboration as we work alongside the County of Kern, Employers’ Training Resource, and Bakersfield Adult School. Volunteers from local churches and the community are the power underneath this lifechanging endeavor. We are currently planning six cohorts in 2021 and are looking at other opportunities to bring educational and vocational job skills programming to our community. The City Center downtown is the heart and soul of CityServe. This is where our main warehouse is located, and in just a few short weeks, we will be opening our office headquarters. A strong, dedicated volunteer base is the heartbeat of CityServe as people cheerfully love their neighbor, one person at a time. Many opportunities are available for people to serve at cityservekerncounty.com. It’s hard to put into words our love for Bakersfield. It is an honor to carry the Chairman’s Award this year. We will hold it with humility and pride, knowing that not one person or organization can make a lasting, positive impact alone. - Robin Robinson, CityServe Community Development/Church Engagement
