Impact Team Reports

Safety & Empowerment

Crispus Attucks Lends a Hand

During 2020, the Crispus Attucks Community Center, part of CAP’s Safety & Empowerment Team, stepped up to feed the community in a big way. The Center has always been committed to making sure all of our neighbors have what they need, but those needs have never been quite so big before!

Due to the pandemic lockdowns, many people unexpectedly found themselves in need of support they had never accessed before, and CACC was ready to respond. The Center doubled its number of monthly food pantry days, provided grab-and-go community meals, and served as a resource for any other needs our customers shared.

One of our customers at the Center shared his experience visiting the pantry for the first time during COVID:

“I have always been fortunate enough to be able to provide for my family. When the pandemic hit I was in the first round of cuts from my job. I went from being financially stable to having to choose which bill I would pay and what meal I could buy to last my family through the week. I was walking past Crispus Attucks Community Center and was greeted by an employee and I asked what was happening because the line was wrapped around the parking lot. The employee explained the food bank was taking place and gave me the hours and even walked me along through the process of getting signed up. I am a very prideful person, but the reassurance and how genuine the staff were really made me feel welcomed. It was the simple things I noticed: they referred to us as customers and they provided items past food such as masks, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, etc. I also received help through their Emergency Rental Assistance Program. I never would have known about these resources had the staff never mentioned it us as we passed through the line. I am so grateful and thankful to know this Center is still in our community and truly living in its mission and values.”

Education & Child Development

At-Home Learning Kits for Young Learners

When COVID-19 forced schools to switch to remote learning models, CAP’s Education and Childhood Development team knew they would need to provide assistance to families in obtaining the supplies their children would need for at-home learning. A survey of families found that 42% had few to no basic learning supplies at home, including 81% who reported few to no math supplies at home, and 42% who reported few to no writing supplies at home.

In order to ensure young learners in CAP’s early learning programs had access to all the at-home supplies they would need for virtual classes, CAP used funding from the PNC Foundation to deliver more than 300 home learning packets to students.

Mother and son receive at-home learning kit

Photo by: Brian Nguyen

Included in these supplies were basic items like scissors, playdough, paper, white boards, markers, erasers, crayons, STEM resources, books, and more. With this initiative, children were equipped to fully participate in classes either via Zoom or with their parent, and families found it easier to engage with their child. Plus having a steady flow of resources allowed there to be enough change to keep their young children excited and participating in the activities.

Head Start and Child Care Merge

Thrive to Five (formerly Lancaster County Head Start and CAP Child Care) is a birth-5 aligned program that provides high-quality learning experiences for infants through pre-k.

This merger enables us to meet families where they are, providing high-quality education for those meeting income requirements of 100% of the poverty guidelines through 300% with free services funded through federal and state grants (Head Start and Pre-K Counts).

Household Stability

CR's First Day

Photo by: Brian Nguyen

Lifted into Hope

CR is a young single mother to one child who joined the Learning In Full-Time Jobs (LIFT) program in January 2020. LIFT provided support with professional and personal development, financial empowerment, and a produce job at Four Seasons. She was interested in the program so she could build more connections within the community, gain skills to help her with a long-term career, and work toward her goal of continuing her education.

CR lived with her parents for the duration of the program and LIFT stability funds were able to help her and her family remain stable by contributing towards some of their living expenses. She utilized the “Your Job Connection” shuttle provided by Four Seasons, High, and the Lancaster Chamber, and she was able to secure childcare assistance through ELRC, which ensured stable childcare while she was at work. During the start of her employment she was open to coaching around workplace expectations and was able to create a good relationship with Four Seasons and their staff. Then, the pandemic hit. Because Four Seasons is considered an essential company, they did not close down fully and CR was able to continue her employment without interruption and participate fully in the LIFT program. Her childcare remained open because it was a smaller center and she also had support from her mother.

In May 2020, CR was recognized by Four Seasons for her hard work and dedication to the job, which made her very proud. She continued to work throughout the pandemic and consistently participated in the LIFT group Zoom meetings. At the end of the program, Four Seasons offered her permanent employment which she accepted and officially started January 3, 2021. She has continued to work full-time at Four Seasons and is starting the process of applying to go to school for Psychology.

The seniors in our senior centers took a trip to the Dutch Apple Theater.

Photo by: Brian Nguyen

Health & Nutrition

Food Distribution Rises to Meet Demand

Since the beginning of March 2020, CAP’s Food Distribution Center distributed 1,039,000 pounds of food to our partner pantries, who in turn distribute it to Lancaster County residents. That’s an average of 19,980 pounds per week distributed to Lancaster County pantries and feeding programs.

We have also distributed 19,812 Emergency Food Boxes, either packed on our own or provided by the Central PA Food Bank.

Although the number of Lancaster County households we are serving is about average for us at the moment, the number of individuals served in our last quarter was 75,686, higher than any other point in the last few years. Most of that increase is children, although support to adults and seniors also increased. That means that more households with children may be experiencing food insecurity and looking for help.

USDA Visits WIC

USDA's VIST t

Photo by: Brian Nguyen

The Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County welcomed U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (former) Administrator, Pam Miller, and Senior Policy Advisor, Lindsay Datlow, to Lancaster to discuss our WIC, SNAP-Ed, and Food Distribution programs and how we innovatively adjusted to accommodate our customers and the community.