Together in Tough Times IMPACT REPORT 2020
2020:
Perspective of thankfulness, perseverance and pride Perspective is an amazing thing. Two people may view the glass in entirely different ways and yet, neither may be right or wrong. For those who know me, I always look at the glass as half full; it’s just my nature. So with a “half-full perspective,” I reflect back on 2020 with a deep sense of thankfulness and pride in perseverance. Yes, we had our challenges—we suffered illness, loss, solitude, and an economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed racial injustice so significant it spurred a national movement—and we have answered the call that in the South Hills, “neighbors help neighbors.” My thankfulness comes from bearing witness to how South Hills neighbors stepped forward in this time of crisis to lend a hand in lifting up those who were struggling. Volunteers willingly came week after week to assist with ensuring that our food pantries continued to meet the rising need in food insecurity. While our pantries looked drastically different with drive-through/walk-up distributions so that we could safely ensure social distancing, we still served a record number of families. I am forever indebted to the donors (individuals, foundations and companies)—both new to SHIM and those who have supported us year after year—whose generosity was humbling and ensured that SHIM could
not only meet today’s needs but also prepare for what tomorrow may bring. My pride is in the SHIM staff that persevered through these challenging times. Programs and services pivoted literally overnight. In-person classes and group activities quickly transformed to virtual settings. Processes were revised and streamlined to ensure that financial assistance could be provided to those who were most vulnerable and facing significant hardships. And when it was safe to do so, in-person summer camp and community learning hubs answered the call for an enriching, educational experience so that our youth can develop for tomorrow. Yes, 2020 presented unimaginable challenges; I’m proud of the work SHIM accomplished and the impact that we have had on the South Hills because of your generous support. I also know that there is so much more to do in 2021. The cliché goes, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I invite you to join SHIM in making lemonade in 2021. That’s a half-full glass of lemonade, by the way. Stay well and safe!
James Guffey Executive Director
SHIM Vision An inclusive community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. SHIM Mission SHIM mobilizes community resources and implements sustainable programs that compassionately help our neighbors meet basic needs, achieve self-sufficiency and build community. A tradition of togetherness Born in 1968 as South Hills Interfaith Ministries by, no kidding, a priest, a rabbi and a minister, SHIM has been providing food, clothing, and services to people in need in Pittsburgh’s southern suburban neighborhoods ever since. Together, with teams of dedicated volunteers, donors and partners, we work to reduce the devastating effects of increased suburban poverty among the low-income workers, unemployed, families, single parents, senior citizens, women and the high concentration of refugee families from around the world.
Together, we are neighbors helping neighbors
Together for the people in our community: 2020 in review
2,700
monthly pantry participants 50% immigrants and refugees 35% children 15% seniors
4,000
people served by SHIM’s food pantries
100+
2,500
individuals received emergency grant funding to prevent crises
visits to our community clothing closet
3,571 new individuals, an increase of 49% from 2019
73
604
seniors were supported by 16 CheckMates volunteers
1,400
backpacks distributed to schoolchildren
individuals and families were served by ISAC
1,900
individuals and families were served with information and referral, screenings for emergency financial grant applications and case management
220
400 students • Early childhood program • After school program • Youth mentoring program • Summer camp • Learning hub
125 participants in Family Center programs • Support groups • Nurturing parenting classes • Men’s group • Dad’s group • Women’s group
children received diapers monthly
7,500 individuals
In the communities SHIM serves—encompassing the school districts of Bethel Park, South Park, Baldwin-Whitehall, Keystone Oaks, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair—nearly a quarter of all children qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. Which is why SHIM’s three food pantries continue to expand to serve the growing number of families facing food insecurity right here at home.
Together facing hunger More than 2,000 kids in our neighborhoods live in poverty.
Reimagined food pantries
When Marcy’s husband’s hours were cut due to COVID-19, the mom of six contacted SHIM. It was the first time she’d ever reached out for help. Seeing the impact of a reduced salary on her family’s budget, she came to SHIM’s Bethel Park food pantry twice a week, enabling her to put food on her family’s table and apply the family’s reduced paycheck toward rent and utilities. Her kids even got new backpacks during SHIM’s back-to-school event.
The pandemic turned our “shopthrough” food pantries into “drive-through” and “walk-up” distributions featuring pre-packed boxes and bags of food, socially distanced and masked volunteers, and thousands of cupboards stocked. In 2020, SHIM distributed 800,000 pounds of food at our food pantries, thanks to financial contributions and 126,177 pounds of food donated by our neighbors.
Food distribution on a grand scale
As the pandemic raged, so did food insecurity in our communities. SHIM hosted three mass food distributions in partnership with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and thanks to hundreds of volunteers, community leaders and public safety officials.
More than
1,800
cars received boxes of produce, more than zip codes More than staples and proteins at our mass across our food distributions, coming from region.
100
50%
had never visited a food pantry.
“Thank you,” one mom said from her minivan at the South Hills Village food distribution, while holding back tears.“I’ve never had to worry about feeding my kids – until now – and you have given me welcome relief when I didn’t think it was possible.”
Together for families For families in the South Hills, SHIM doesn’t stop at helping meet basic needs. Our comprehensive programs provide critical services on the path to achieving self-sufficiency. From the early childhood program that helps many children of recent immigrants develop skills to enter kindergarten to the youth mentoring program that enables teens to discover passions that fuel careers to the parenting education and support that gives families confidence, SHIM makes a difference for hundreds of families each year. In 2020, SHIM reimagined all our programs to keep families, staff and volunteers safe. The results are a testament to creativity and innovation enabled by your generosity. Youth Mentoring graduate, Yunus Sari and his proud family. Yunus began this adventure in SHIM’s Early Childhood Program when he was four years old.
From silent to chatty: one early learner’s story
When home visits aren’t possible for home visiting
Leon came to SHIM’s early childhood program with emotional difficulties. During his first year, he was mostly non-verbal and played by himself. Thanks to an environment that made him feel safe, Leon’s second year in our program brought him words. Then, sentences. And finally, full conversations. He eagerly conversed with his peers, as the program helped him become not only an English-speaker, but a good friend.
Home visiting has long been an effective tool for child development. But what happens when visiting a home isn’t possible due to a global pandemic? SHIM’s Family Development Specialists quickly went virtual. But when a twoyear old boy refused to interact with the screen, running away instead, one enterprising staffer introduced a new, engaging video. The excited toddler then wouldn’t let the lesson end; he loved it too much.
Meet citizen X Homework? What homework? Six weeks into the school year, Alan joined our youth mentoring program. Turns out, he hadn’t realized he needed to join video calls with his teachers. And due to language and digital literacy barriers, neither did his parents. Alan had more than 30 missing assignments when our team stepped in, connecting with his teachers and working through a schedule to catch up. By December, not only was Alan up to speed, he earned ‘Most Improved’ student recognition in his English class.
Two years ago, John joined the Men’s Group at SHIM’s Family Center. The elderly man, a recent immigrant, was only able to sign “X” for his name. Fast forward to this year’s pandemic and John’s two-year journey to American citizenship is complete. With support from the group and education, he proudly passed his tests, now offering this advice to others, “Don’t lose hope, don’t give up. Now I feel like nothing is impossible.”
Together, neighbors helping neighbors
While 2020 brought unprecedented need to our community, it also brought unprecedented generosity. In a year we saw thousands of new faces walk through our socially distanced doors – in fact, a 61% increase – we also saw a record number of new donors stepping up to help. A remarkable 1,376 new donors joined the SHIM family this year, providing $358,891 in gifts to help our most vulnerable. We are overwhelmed with the generosity of so many helping our neighbors access basic needs and find their path toward self-sufficiency.
SHIM Board of Directors Tim Millet, Chair PNC Bank James Frantz, Vice Chair TEDCO Construction Corporation Mandy Thomas, Secretary Westminster Presbyterian Church Jay Sukernek, Treasurer Jewish Association on Aging
Nicole Bruno Bruno PR and Social
Stacey Reibach Community Leader
Steve DeNoon KPMG
Melanie SanFilippo Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Trina DeMarco Eat’n Park Hospitality Group Danielle Dietrich Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky
Lejla Sehic BNY Mellon Rev. Brian Snyder Bower Hill Community Church
Linda Jones United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
Dr. G. Alan Yeasted St. Clair Hospital
Pace Markowitz NOVA Chemicals
Cynthia Donahoe Recording Secretary
George Pashel Acadia Healthcare, Southwood
James Guffey SHIM Executive Director
Dr. Kiran Patil St. Clair Hospital
Together in gratitude. Many thanks to some of our generous foundation, corporate and agency partners. Partnerships
Foundations
Allegheny County Department of Human Services
A.J. and Sigismunda Palumbo Charitable Trust
($5,000+)
($1,000+)
Big Lots
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Allegheny County Bar Foundation
BNY Mellon Community Partnership
Eden Hall Foundation
Brentwood Bank
North Hills Community Outreach
G.C. Murphy Company Foundation
CentiMark Corporation
Jewish Family and Community Services
Heinz Endowments Hillman Family Foundations
Chuck’s Complete Auto Service
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Jefferson Community Collaborative Dress for Success WQED Whitehall Library
Jack Buncher Foundation Jefferson Regional Foundation John E. and Sue M. Jackson Charitable Trust Massey Charitable Trust Philip Chosky Charitable Educational Foundation
Congregations
Corporations/Businesses
($500+)
Highmark & Allegheny Health Network Julia James Salon Lighthouse Electric Company, Inc. Mariani & Richards P3R
Citizen’s Bank - Banking & Wealth Center
Patrinos Painting
D-M Products, Inc.
PNC Financial Services Group
Dollar Bank Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, Inc. Federated Investors Foundation, Inc.
Pierson and Scott, Inc.
Bethany Lutheran Church Bethel Presbyterian Church Bower Hill Community Church Brentwood Presbyterian Church Christ United Methodist Church Dormont United Methodist Church Faith Lutheran Church First Bethel United Methodist Church Hamilton Presbyterian Church USA Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church
St. Clair Hospital
John McMillan Presbyterian Church
TEDCO Construction Corp.
Presbyterian Women In The Pittsburgh Presbytery
TELEO Performance
Southminster Presbyterian Church
First Commonwealth Bank
Tristate Capital Bank
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Two Men And A Truck
Sunset Hills United Presbyterian Church
Whole Foods Market
Temple Emanuel of the South Hills
Literacy Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation
Beverly’s Birthdays
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Fort Pitt Capital Group, Inc.
Venture Outdoors
Richard King Mellon Foundation
Gateway Engineers
Tickets for Kids
Robert and Mary Weisbrod Foundation
Gateway Health Plan
The Hindu Jain Temple
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Trinity United Methodist Church
Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation
HarbisonWalker International Foundation
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Art4AllPGH (Artsmiths of Pittsburgh)
United Methodist Foundation of Western Pennsylvania
Whitehall United Presbyterian Church Zion Lutheran Church
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
SHIM is powered by hundreds and hundreds of neighbors including local businesses, community
groups, and congregations. We are thankful for the ongoing support we receive from these generous partners.
Together in tough times It’s easy to see the hardship in tough times. But here in the South Hills, we saw the hope, joy and kindness of our neighbors coming together to support one another.
A SHIM Family Fundraiser The Heitman family rallied their community for a food drive by word of mouth, yard signs and Facebook posts. With wagon in hand, the Heitman kids collected more than 1,000 pounds of food for SHIM. We are so grateful to the generosity of the Heitmans and their neighbors.
A truly thankful Thanksgiving Just before Thanksgiving, Evelyn came to SHIM when she was trying to find rent relief, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant reduction in her hours and paycheck. Having a hard time making ends meet, the single mother of five soon found her troubles compounded when one of her children contracted COVID-19. The family needed to quarantine for 24 days, which impacted Evelyn’s ability to go to work or shop for groceries. The day before Thanksgiving, a volunteer came to SHIM with a full holiday dinner, complete with all the trimmings. We quickly thought of Evelyn and her kids and shared the generous meal. Evelyn is forever grateful to the community for help in hard times.
Bethel Park LadyHawks
A community comes together While the pandemic upended everyone’s world, it had a significant effect on our community activities. And though the annual Holocaust Observance was canceled, our other signature events were reimagined digitally—Celebrate the South Hills@home and Interfaith Thanksgiving brought our community together in virtual, new ways.
The Bethel Park High School LadyHawks soccer team may not be on the field, but they’re kicking up goodness in our South Hills community. With the help of their families, coaches, friends and neighbors, the team raised $200 in monetary donations and collected over 500 items (including non-perishable food and toiletries) for SHIM. Thank you, LadyHawks, for your generosity and good teamwork for the community.
After School Program Parade To celebrate our young learners, SHIM’s After School Program teachers and staff joined together for a special parade featuring WQED’s Nature Cat. We traveled the South Hills cheering, honking and delivering After School Kits that included books, crayons, frisbees, bubbles, bandanas and more.
Want to hear more about how the community has come together in tough times? Visit: shimcares.org/who-we-are/ together-in-tough-times/
Together, by the numbers
Powered by volunteers In 2020, 302 volunteers donated 17,262 hours to SHIM programs including our food pantries, clothing closet, youth mentoring, after school and more, valuing $125,149.50.
17,262
2020 Revenue
hours
Of $2,260,690 in total revenue in 2020, nearly 60% came from individual donors. Fundraising Revenue by Source $21,093 Community Organizations $103,191 Religious $153,946 Corporate
2020 Spending
$1,341,446 Individuals
75 cents on the dollar goes to programs
$641,014 Foundations
$2,123,282 Program services
$393,280 General and administrative $318,810 Fundraising