Winter 2018 Newsletter, Bread for the City

GOOD HOPE GAZETTE

SPECIAL UPDATE ABOUT BREAD FOR THE CITY’S SOUTHEAST EXPANSION BreadfortheCity

@BreadfortheCity

Dear Bread for the City Family, Hope is building!

The new year has arrived, which means construction soon will begin on Bread for the City’s new, 30,000square-foot service center at 1710 Good Hope Road, SE. This is such a big undertaking and has such incredible potential for the community we serve that we’ve created this special-edition newsletter to showcase this critical project.

Look inside to learn how our new center is being designed to offer more services to those who need it … to build hope!

In this edition you’ll also meet Terri, who is featured on page 3. Terri was introduced to Bread for the City when she needed help—and today she is an employee right at our existing Southeast Center. She knows firsthand how Bread for the City’s services can help an individual or family, and how our new center holds the potential to change even more lives.

A full description of the building on page 3 will give you an idea of just how much the new facility will benefit our clients. One of the highlights will be the rooftop vegetable garden and educational space. You don’t need to be a farmer or a foodie to get excited about everything we will grow up there or how we’ll use it to promote sustainable and nutritious eating in the community.

You’ll also have the chance to read about how our new center will bring Bread for the City’s unique primary health care services to Southeast DC for the first time. Providing primary care, behavioral health services and dental and vision care will be an enormous service to our neighbors living in the area, which right now has extremely limited access to health care services.

There is so much to share about our new center on Good Hope Road. I hope you are as excited about it as I am!

Sincerely, George A. Jones Chief Executive Officer

BreadfortheCity

WINTER

2018

BreadfortheCity.org

BUILDING ON GOOD HOPE Bread for the City is breaking ground on our brand-new, 30,000-square-foot service center on Good Hope Road, SE. For many years, Bread for the City has known that the only way to meet the growing needs of our community would be for Bread for the City to grow too.

Our 9,000-square-foot Southeast Center at 1640 Good Hope Road has been operating at full capacity since 2002. We have tried not to let limited space stand in the way of serving our community, and anyone who comes through our doors will always see us hard at work providing food, clothing, social services, legal advice, and more.

But to meet the increasing need of our community we must do more. That is why this spring Bread for the City will break ground on our new center on Good Hope Road, with a goal of opening to the public in 2020.

At 30,000 square feet, our new center will be more than three times the size of our current facility—and we have plans to make use of every square foot.

Our goal is to be able to grow all of our existing programs and even expand to new areas. We’ve enlisted the help of community members and stakeholders to inform our building’s design so that it truly will be a place of healing, help, and hope.

Hope Comes from Health

One of the greatest needs within our Southeast DC community is access to medical care, which is why Bread for the City will dedicate space within the new facility to providing its primary care services. For the first time, we will be able to offer annual and employment physicals, lab tests, medication, needle Continued on page 2

By Building on Good Hope, we’re making a significant investment toward progress in our city and for our neighbors.

CHILDREN

PARENTS

JOB SEEKERS

TENANTS

will receive immunizations, dental care, and school physicals.

will work with counselors to address the stress of poverty and break the cycle.

will interview wearing new suits, increasing their chances of securing good jobs.

will have their rights defended in court.

exchange, and behavioral health care in Southeast DC. A dental clinic will provide cleanings, extractions, dentures, and X-rays to 1,000 patients, and a vision clinic will provide screenings, medication management, and minor surgical procedures for 500 patients.

A wellness center, complete with recreation rooms, classrooms, and a kid-friendly waiting room, will give our patients even more ways to take control of their physical and mental health.

Hope Comes from Employment

The new Southeast Center will feature a brand-new jobs center with a smart classroom, computer lab, counseling rooms, and training space. Bread for the City’s Pre-Employment Program (PEP) provides job seekers with training, mentorship, case management, paid internship opportunities, and long-term support.

We will be able to more than double the number of PEP program participants to 250 each year and improve on our 75% success rate for PEP graduates who transition to stable employment, internships, or continuing education programs.

Hope Comes from Access to Nutritious Food

Crowning the new Good Hope Road facility will be a green roof, rooftop vegetable garden, and

FRESH PRODUCE will be on dinner plates all over Southeast DC.

educational space. This green space will host gardening classes, wellness and social work programs, and community gatherings, as well as grow produce to be distributed in the food pantry.

Hope Comes from Friends Like You

Throughout every program and in every corner of our new building, people will feel our Bread for the City family’s commitment to ending poverty in Washington, DC. We are eager to get started and remain filled with hope for all this new service center will accomplish. Thank you for being a part of this important undertaking.

For more information about the Building on Good Hope Project and how you can get involved, go to breadforthecity.org/goodhope.

Watch Us Build on Good Hope The groundbreaking for Bread for the City’s new service center on Good Hope Road is scheduled for the spring of 2018, and the transformation will take place quickly as workers construct our new building from the foundation all the way up to the rooftop garden.

And because people’s needs won’t stop while we’re under construction, Bread for the City will continue serving the community out of our current center from the groundbreaking to the grand opening of our new home on Good Hope Road.

POVERTY EAST OF THE RIVER Bread for the City’s new facility on Good Hope Road is being built to specifically address the needs around us and impact the lives of our neighbors and community.

• In the 2010 census, one in five DC residents (123,000 people) and one in three children reported living in poverty.

• Nearly half of children living east of the river are in families experiencing poverty.

• There is a critical shortage of medical providers in the District of Columbia, with very few primary care providers in Wards 7 and 8.

• Unemployment in Ward 8 stands at three times that of Wards 1, 2, and 3.

• About 324,000 DC households are food insecure.

• Wards 7 and 8 are home to the District’s largest food deserts: residents have only one supermarket for every 70,000 people.

• The District of Columbia has lost more than half of its lowcost rental units since 2000.

From Client to Coordinator: Terri, SE Community Organizer Terri was once a client. Today, she works at Bread for the City, and knows what our new Southeast Center will mean to the community.

“It’s going to be wonderful!”

You can hear the excitement in Terri Acker’s voice when she talks about plans for Bread for the City’s new Southeast Center. And she should know!

After all, Terri remembers when Bread for the City was operating out of a trailer on 14th Street, NW. That was more than 30 years ago, when she was pregnant with her oldest daughter and needed help. She’d come for maternity clothes, and was grateful to receive food as well.

Bread for the City was there for Terri through five daughters and many of life’s ups and downs. “There were times when I got laid off from a job. I’d think, ‘Here we go again.’ But Bread was always there.”

And now, Terri is there for Bread for the City—as a staff member! After going through our community organizers training, she was hired as a community organizer. Today, she helps individuals who are struggling—very much like she was—to find their voices and advocate for their rights. Specifically, Terri is passionate about fighting for affordable housing for residents of the District and has even testified at a District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) commissioners meeting.

“When I started, I didn’t know what organizing was. I thought it had to do with shelves! But I’ve fallen in love with it. I’m teaching people how to go to government meetings and testify at the Wilson Building. I’m teaching people how to tell their story.”

And with the new Southeast Center, Terri can already see the possibilities abound.

“There will be so much more opportunity for clients to get help. We’ll be able to collaborate more with other organizations, and bring more people in to learn—not just for organizing, but all sorts of things. And the wellness center! People with troubles and stress will be able to come and work it off.”

As someone who used to receive clothing from a Bread for the City trailer, Terri understands how much things can change.

She also knows that disaster can strike at any moment. Terri had only just started working at Bread for the City when a fire in her apartment left her without permanent housing for over a year.

But no matter her life’s challenges, Bread for the City has been there for Terri, and Terri is determined to use her experiences to help others.

“What I tell people is that there is hope. It’s right here at Bread.”

Now, as our new building on Good Hope Road gets underway, Terri’s words ring even more true. There is hope!

Workplace Giving Opportunities

of the National Capital Area

CFC #61733

DC One Fund #8219

United Way #8219

Donate food, clothing, or other items from our Amazon Wish List.

See our Wish List at BreadfortheCity.org/wishlist.

Wish List Add a gift to Bread for the City the next time you shop online!

Here are some our most critically needed items: ✔ Diapers ✔ C hildren’s books, especially in Spanish ✔ C leaning supplies/ laundry detergent

Thank You for Making Our 2017 Holiday Helpings a Success!

As we jump right into the new year, we don’t want to forget to recognize our supporters who supported Bread for the City between November 1 and December 31 for our annual Holiday Helpings drive.

We set a goal of raising enough funds to provide 8,000 meals, and with your help, we surpassed it! Because of friends like you, our neighbors experiencing poverty did not have to forgo holiday celebrations. They enjoyed a turkey feast with all the trimmings—thanks to you.

✔ G ift cards for grocery stores and pharmacies ✔ P lus-sized clothing for men and women

✔ SmarTrip cards ✔ T oiletries and other household items

SAVE THE DATE!

The Building on Good Hope Gala will be held on April 28, 2018 Every year nearly 500 friends of Bread for the City gather together for a night of celebration, philanthropy, and dancing at our our annual gala.

This year, we’re doing it again—and with our new Southeast Center underway, we will have even more to celebrate as we raise enthusiasm to keep this project moving forward. Save the date for the 2018 Building On Good Hope Gala.

Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. NW April 28, 2018, 6pm

“Just giving back, putting smiles on people’s faces.

The fact that I get to come here, giving food to citizens who need it … that really makes me feel happy and proud.”

–Chris McCullough of the Washington Wizards on why he enjoys volunteering with Bread for the City’s Holiday Helpings.

For more information about our Holiday Helpings holiday tradition, go to www.breadforthecity.org/holidayhelpings

Photos from our 2017 Good Hope Gala

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