Jack and Jill Foundation Annual Report 2015-2016

Annual Report

2015-2016

VISION – Our Vision is to transform African American communities, ONE CHILD AT A TIME. MISSION – Our mission is to address issues affecting African American children and families, by investing in programs and services that create a strong foundation for children to thrive long-term.

IMPACT – We invest in services, programs and organizations that focus on impacting the underlying issues affecting African American children and families.

Our Priorities

African American Families As of 2013, 67% of African American children raised in single parent homes, compared to 25% of whites and 42% of Hispanics. And, 36% of African American children (aged 0-17) live in food-insecure households compared with 15% white and 29% Hispanic.

Education The 47% national graduation rate for African American males is nearly 28% lower than for white males. Most schools with black majority enrollments do not have libraries, an adequate supply of textbooks and computers, art and music programs and science labs. There are also race gaps in the quality of experience in early education which is the foundation for school success.

Our priority is improving the lives of African American children. We are concerned about making a difference in the areas that can significantly shift their outcomes in life. We are committed to supporting services, programs and organizations that focus on impacting root causes of social problems affecting African American children and families.

Our investments will improve outcomes for core issues in the following Philanthropic Focus Areas and work to improve key issues affecting African American children and families.

3 Health and Wellness Health disparities between African Americans and other racial and ethnic populations are striking and apparent in life expectancy, death rates, infant mortality, and other measures of health status and risk conditions and behaviors.

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Members of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., thank you for your unyielding dedication and generosity to Jack and Jill of America Foundation. The contribution of $739,022 is a tangible representation of your efforts toward improving our communities. You have truly made a difference in the lives of our children through your acts of philanthropy and service.

President’s Letter

National President Tammy King has remained an integral part of the leadership in your Foundation, and for that you should be very pleased.

The Executive Board and Board of Trustees have worked tirelessly to create a strategic plan that will reflect your wishes and bring your Foundation to a new level. A concentrated focus on African American families, education and health and wellness will allow us to be more impactful in our communities and nationwide.

I have traveled throughout the nation and you would be proud of the amazing work your Foundation Members-at-Large are doing to make Jack and Jill more visible and impactful.

Foundation dollars are continuing to provide much needed programming and financial assistance to several initiatives. Scholarships for HBCU students will continue to cultivate future leaders within our communities.

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In addition, Rebuild America will once again provide a new home for a welldeserved family in the National Convention location, Palm Desert in the Far West Region. What a wonderful and lasting effect your dollars will make on this household!

Your voices were heard when you told us you wanted a more impactful presence in our neighborhoods. As a result of your enthusiasm, perseverance and financial commitment, we are improving our African American communities, one child at a time. On behalf of the entire Jack and Jill of America Foundation and headquarters staff, thank you.

Yours in service,

Dr. Shelley Brown-Cooper, Ed.D President

Thank you to our donors and supporters for continuing to champion the Foundation’s mission and providing HOPE to so many children across this country. This fiscal year reported in this Annual Report shows that Jack and Jill of America Chapters and the Foundation have invested with national and local organizations that create a strong foundation for our children to thrive longterm. The Foundation has given over $375,000 in grants to impact the underlying issues affecting African American children and families in the areas of education and health and wellness programs.

Jack and Jill Foundation continues to invest in education with our national scholarship program that provides up to $2,500 to students throughout their undergraduate career. You will meet a few of these students in this annual report.

Executive Director’s Letter

Foundation continues to make meaningful impact in our communities in supporting organizations that guides youth and propels them toward a future of possibilities that otherwise may not have been possible.

There are many ways to invest in our communities, invest in communities that serve the people, invest in youth entrepreneurs to drive economic development, invest in our culture and community to enjoy a quality of life, invest in the feeling of freedom and a vision for bigger and better things for us and our future generations. Chapters are hard at work and share this same vision to invest in youth and our communities.

As I have travelled to Teen Conference Community Service projects, I see that the opportunities for our children are endless. The work will not be easy but it will be incredible rewarding because we know that it will make a difference in someone’s life. Jack and Jill of America Foundation believes in the future of our children and the power of our community to make a change.

On behalf of all the children and the communities you transformed this year, thank you!

Sincerely,

Pier A.H. Blake Executive Director

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Our Foundation Scholars

Demarttice Bernard Tunstall

School: Columbia College of Columbia University, New York Hometown: Mobile, AL Major: Linguistics and race and ethnicity studies Graduation date: May 20, 2015 What is Next: Travelling to Germany as a part of a Germany Congress Bundestag for Young Professionals

Britney Davis

School: Villanova University Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Major: Chemical Engineering Minors: Business and Engineering Entrepreneurship Gradation date: May 15, 2015 & May 16, 2015 What is Next: Working Full-time this summer (starting her career with multiple job offers)

Eunice Akinola

School: Ithaca College Hometown: Mesquite, Texas Major: BFA Acting Minor: Communications Expected Graduation: May, 2017

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Bryanna R. Norwood

School: Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina Major: Economics Minor: Spanish Expected Graduation Date: May 2017

Brittany Anderson

School: University of Central Oklahoma Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK Major: School Psychology Graduation date: May 2018 What is Next: I have taken the steps in preparing myself for my career. I worked at a school for autistic children.

Nickolas Mack

School: American University Hometown: Jacksonville, NC Major: International Studies Graduation Date: May 2019 What is Next: Summer School so that I can finish my undergraduate degree early.

Henock Solomon

School: University of Colorado at Boulder Hometown: Denver, CO Major: Economics Graduation Date: May 2019 What is Next: Internship

Our Foundation Scholars Jack and Jill Foundation gives to the individual student under the umbrella of UNCF. It is important to allow students to attend the college or university of their choice and be successful!

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Philanthropy

Loose Change

Since 2006, making a Positive Change with Loose Change is a program that has exposed Jack and Jill children (ages 2 through 12 to philanthropy. Throughout the year, these young leaders set aside their “loose” change. The monies are then donated to Jack and Jill of America Foundation. The Foundation Board decides and then donate the funds to organizations throughout the country. 2014-2015 Loose change gave $25,000 to the Marian Wright Edelman Public Library in Bentonsville, SC the hometown of the illustrious founder of the Children’s Defense Fund to purchase a bookmobile.

2015-2016 went to the Mid-Western Region to benefit the Obama Presidential Center located in Chicago, Illinois. The goal with the Obama Presidential Center is to connect history with action. The space will tell President Obama’s story in ways no other presidential library or museum has. And perhaps more importantly, it will deliver on the President’s timeless idea that ordinary people can gather together and make change.

STEM/Education By age 2, disparities already show between black and white children. Fewer black children demonstrate proficiency in development skills such as receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, matching, early counting, math, color knowledge, numbers and shapes. While 91 percent of white children aged 3 to 5 who weren’t enrolled in kindergarten were read to by family members three or more times per week, 78 percent of black children were read to with the same frequency.

Disparities in course offerings mean students of color have fewer opportunities to challenge themselves with more difficult courses — the type of courses needed to prepare for a four-year college degree or for a high-paying career in STEM. Lindsey Cook, USNews Report (Jan. 2015)

8 2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 The talent pool is shallow and will not meet the demands for STEM careers. (See Fig. 1) Jack and Jill Foundation knows the importance of investing in STEM and it must be long-term. Over $65,000 was devoted to STEM programs. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/01/28/us-education-still-separate-and-unequal

Reading Corner Literacy is a key determinant to school and life success. To ensure that projects with the best potential for effecting positive change are considered, these grant submissions are evaluated by a Steering Committee. This committee has representation from all seven regions of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. This grant is awarded on a one-year basis. Only one application per chapter.

IMPACT PRIORITY At-risk youth, disadvantaged/underserved urban youth, and Kindergarten through 3rd grade students

Reading Corner

MAXIMUM AWARD $3,000

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Central Region Teen Community Service

Member-At-Large, Elsie Jackson

Central Region Teen Leadership Conference “Success through Synergy We’re a Force When We Work Together!”

Impacting 25,458 lives Servant Leadership at its best! Central Region Teens hosted 2 community service events this summer at their Teen Leadership Conference.

Donations for the Vivian Adams Early Childhood Center (VAECC) • The Central Region Teens collected and donated cleaning supplies and educational tools to the VAECC. • VAECC is an early childhood center serving children ages 3 to 5 preparing them for entry into elementary school.

• 99% of the children served are from under resource, below the poverty level families. Without the services provided by the Center, many children might not be prepared for the academic rigors of starting school on a fulltime basis.

• Children are provided with hands on learning and grow to have an appreciation and fondness for learning.

• The school strives to provide a “jump start” to a strong educational foundation for children that are in under resource/underserved communities preparing them for kindergarten.

• Students that attend the school begin their educational journey well equipped with the necessary skills to excel and typically excel at math and science.

• The school currently has 375 students.

Prepared 25,086 meals! Crazy fun feed the funnel packing party!

• • •

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Central Region Teens packed and prepared 25,086 delicious, nutritious, and easy-to prepare meals for a local St. Louis metropolitan food bank that services food-insecure African American families.

1 out of 4 children in the St. Louis area are food insecure during the summer when school is on recess.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 49 million Americans lived in households struggling against hunger in 2012.

Of them, 15.7 million were children (21.4 percent of all children).

The Central Region Teens were extremely honored to provide assistance to the VAECC and food insecure families in the St. Louis area. Together we can do more. “Success through Synergy We’re a Force When We Work Together!”

STOP HUNGER NOW Eastern Region Teens assembled meals that combined rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a packet containing 23 essential vitamins and minerals into small meal packages. The meals are shipped throughout the world to support school feeding programs, orphanages, and crisis relief. The food is stored easily, transported quickly, and has a shelf-life of two years.

Eastern Region Teen Community Service

When meals reach their final designated school, they are provided to children daily at the end of the school day, setting up an incentive for coming to school each day. The program seeks to stop the cycle of poverty by keeping kids from dropping out of school in order to work for food.

Research has shown that one in three people in developing countries are adversely affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Addressing the problem of hunger is the single point where we can leverage relief for all humanitarian issues. This year the Eastern Region teens packed over 25,000 meals!

Member-At-Large, Akira Bell Johnson

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Far West Region Teen Community Service

Member-At-Large, Vara Allen-Jones

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Far West Region Making a Difference in the Live of our Veterans On June 24, 2016, approximately 300 Far West Region teens and chaperones provided a day of service to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Long Beach Healthcare System campus. MAL Allen-Jones and Teen Foundation Chair Mumford along with Karen Scott and Tracie Thompson of the Long Beach chapter coordinated the event. Jack and Jill Foundation President Cooper was our honored guest.

Chapters from Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington provided a much needed campus beautification labor force. The goal of this activity was to create attractive and welcoming outdoor areas for veterans and their families to comfortably spend time while seeking medical services and to enhance their overall patient experience. The result of our efforts included newly mulched campus entrances, design and planting of various flower gardens, pruned visitation areas and landscaping of common grounds. VA Long Beach Healthcare System is one of the most diversified health care systems in the VA. Located along the Southern California coast, the facility provides comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and extended care programs. The medical center and its community clinics employ more than 2,200 full-time employees, and VA Long Beach is the health care provider of choice for more than 50,000 Veterans. One of the Core Values of the VA Hospital is “Respect: Treat all those I serve and with whom I work with dignity and respect. Show respect to earn it.� This activity provided teens an opportunity to create an environment that reflects the respect and gratitude due to those who have served our country.

Recognizing that the U.S. has more homeless children than at any other time since the Great Depression, the Mid-Atlantic Region participated in a yearlong service project. During Regionally hosted events, members of the Region donated blankets, socks, books and flash lights for use in the Service project scheduled to culminate at the 63rd Annual Teen Conference. The Conference, hosted by the Portsmouth and Hampton chapters was held in Portsmouth, VA. The Region set out to positively impact the lives of foster and homeless children in the Hampton Roads area. Many homeless and foster care youth enter care requiring immediate attention and without the comforts of basic bedding. The Cuddle Kit project was designed to quickly address those needs by providing a tangible display of care and comfort items. During the Teen Conference, families donated the remaining items for the kits. Those items included bed linens, pillows, and shower shoes. Over 300 teens assembled the items into 100 keep sake laundry bags for distribution through two local agencies. The two local agencies, For Kids and HER: Help and Emergency Response Shelter were on hand to receive the Cuddle Kits. The families of the Mid-Atlantic Region are grateful for the continued support of the Foundation in helping to change our community one child at a time.

Mid-Atlantic Region Teen Community Service

Member-At-Large, Tonya Green

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Mid-Western Region Teen Community Service

The Teens travelled to 6 different YMCA in Greater Indianapolis to R.A.C.E. to Literacy. This year’s community service project has a goal to create a fun filled event for the YMCA campers that will focus on the importance of reading.

Each camper will be a part of the following activities: • • • • •

Member-At-Large, Deborah Evans

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Media center with phonics or vocabulary theme Reading corner - J&J teens will read to campers in small settings.

Books will be needed Crafts - Teens will assist the campers in creating a book mark. Craft items will be needed for 1600 campers Face painting - Teens will face paint the campers which will add one element and fun and engagement Free Book and bag distribution to the campers -1600 drawstring book bags will be needed

JJack and Jill of America Foundation supported the South Central Region’s Teen Conference with a $3,500 grant to leave an indelible impact in the city of Beaumont, Texas, and they did just that!

Over 450 South Central Region Teen volunteers spread out around the city of Beaumont participating in 12 different service projects. South Central Region teens participated and supported the Foundation’s priorities of African American Families by serving in the beautification of the Magnolia Garden, the Clifton Steamboat Museum, Habitat for Humanity and Harvest for Lost Souls. They supported Education by creating Lending Libraries for Local schools and finally Health & Wellness with serving nutritional food to seniors, creating food packs for Stop Hunger Now and sorting donations at the Southeast Texas Food Bank.

The signature Community Service project supported by all chapters was bringing assigned food items to create 200 reusable Weekend Food Packs. The Food Packs are for food deprived kids in the Beaumont, TX area.

The teens covered dozens of blocks in the South Park area picking up trash, built portable lending library structures with the assistance from the local fire department. They also served food to families in this area where food insecurities exist. This was all done with a grateful heart and determined spirit of charity.

South Central Region

Teen Community Service

Member-At-Large , Sativa Leach-Bowen

“Knowing that you’re helping somebody, knowing that you’re trying to keep their community clean, you know it really puts a smile on your face,” said Detarian Johnson who helped clean up the trash.

The impact of and to our teens was summarized in this quote that was published in the local television news story, “It really touches me and I try to work harder each day,” said volunteer Kendrick McCollums.

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Southeastern Region

Teen Community Service

Member-At-Large, Dee Dawkins-Haigler

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This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Southeastern Region’s Annual Teen Conference. The conference held at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Atlanta boasted the largest conference attendance with almost 900 teens registered and an additional 250 conference registrants. “Helping Hands Changing Lives” was the teen conference community service project which provided an opportunity for both team-building as well as exposure to the robotic element of STEMbased initiatives which has been a primary focus for Jack and Jill of America’s national programming thrust for the last several years. Approximately 650 teens banded together to assemble prosthetic hands on behalf of Odyssey Helping Hands, an award winning project that provides prosthetic hands for amputees in developing countries while building purpose-driven teams and leaders. Teens participating in the event were split into groups and were each assigned separate tasks within their teams to enable the assembly of the prosthetics. The LN-4 prosthetic hands have provided mobility, confidence and self-dependence to those injured by land mines, work accidents, electricity, congenital conditions or acts of violence. The Southeastern Region Teens worked diligently to assemble approximately 70 hands that will forever change the lives of individuals around the world.

The Helping Hands program has provided over 10,000 hands in 75 different countries

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Consolidated Financials

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Jack and Jill of America Foundation, Inc. Statement of Financial Position

Where Does Your Money Go? $52,000 $106,000 $30,000

$66,000

$150,000

2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT

As of May 31, 2016

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Foundation Contributions

($1,500 and over as of June 1, 2015)

$15,000 - $20,000 Atlanta, GA Central New Jersey, NJ Chicago, IL Nashville, TN Washington, DC $13,000 - $14,999 North Houston Suburban, TX

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$10,000 - $12,999 Columbus, GA Jackson, MS Metropolitan New York, NY New Orleans, LA Northern Virginia, VA Target

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$5,000 - $9,999 Bergen Passaic, NJ Bucks County, PA Charleston, SC Cincinnati, OH Contra Costa, CA Dallas, TX Durham, NC Grasp Fund - Community Foundation of Sarasota Greater Channel, TX Greater Frisco, TX Greater Huntsville, AL Greater North Atlanta, GA Hampton, VA Houston, TX Lake Shore, IL Los Angeles, CA Memphis, TN Mid-Hudson Valley, NY Minneapolis, MN Montgomery County, PA

Orlando, FL Pasadena, CA Prince George’s County, MD Raleigh, NC Rockland Orange, NY South Charlotte, NC South Suburban Chicago, IL Southbelt Houston, TX St. Louis, MO Stone Mountain, GA Suffolk County, NY Williamson County, TN Windy City, IL $2,500 - $4,999 Arlington, TX Austin, TX Birmingham, AL Capital City, NC Charlotte, NC Chattanooga, TN City of Lakes, MN Cleveland, OH Columbia, MD Columbia, SC Dayton, OH Detroit, MI Fayette, GA Gaye Holmes Greater Hartford, CT Greater Tampa, FL Greensboro, NC Greenville, SC Indianapolis, IN Inland Empire, CA Jacksonville, FL James River, VA Johnson County, KS Katy Praire View, TX

$1,500 - $2,499 Augusta, GA Bloomington/Normal, IL Bronx, NY Brooklyn, NY Capital City, NC Central Region, Elsie Jackson Charles Noble Chesapeake, VA Christine Govan Columbus, OH Conway, SC Denver, CO

DFW MidCities, TX East Suburban Atlanta, GA Eastern Region, Akira Bell Johnson Eastern, NC Essex Hudson County, NJ Far West Region, Vara Allen-Jones Fresno, CA Greater Lansing, MI Greater Little Rock, AR Greater Metro Atlanta, GA Inglewood, CA Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Tammy King Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Joli Cooper-Nelson Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Crystal Turner Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Gladys Henderson Jersey Shore, NJ Loudoun County, VA Manassas-Woodbridge, VA Mavis P. James Mid-Atlantic Region, Tonya Green MidWestern Region, Debra Evans Motor City, MI New Castle County, DE New Haven, CT North Oakland/Macomb, MI North Shore, IL Oklahoma City, OK Palm Beach County, FL Queens, NY San Antonio, TX Shelley Brown Cooper South Central Region, Sativa Leach Bowen South Jersey, NJ South Miami, FL Southeastern Region, Dee Dawkins-Hagiler Southwest Suburban Dallas, TX Tri-Valley, CA Tulsa, OK Westchester County, NY

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Kansas City, KS Lake Spivey, GA Macon, GA Midlothian, VA Mobile, AL Montgomery County, MD Nassau County, NY National Harbor, MD Newton, MA North County San Diego, CA North Suburban Atlanta, GA North Texas, TX Northeast Dallas, TX Oakland Bay, CA Philadelphia, PA Queens City, NC Red River, LA Reston, VA Richmond, VA Rochester, NY San Fernando Valley, CA San Jose, CA Southern Maryland Tallahasse, FL Tuskegee, AL Western Cook County, IL Winston-Salem, NC Ypsilanti, M

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Board of Trustees

Executive Board

Vara Allen-Jones MAL Far West Region Akira Bell Johnson MAL Eastern Region David Brand Trustee Dee Dawkins-Haigler MAL Southeastern Region Deborah Evans MAL MidWestern Region Gladys Henderson National Program Director Elsie Jackson MAL Central Region

Dr. Shelley Brown-Cooper, Ed.D. President

Charles Noble Vice President

Christine Govan Treasurer

Carla Kirkland Trustee Hope Knight Trustee Sativa Leach-Bowen MAL South Central Region LaTanya Bellow RD Far West Region Emeritus Trustees: Jacqueline Moore Bowles Mavis P. James

Tammy King National President

Joli Cooper-Nelson National Vice-President

Crystal Turner-Johnson National Treasurer

Tonya Green MAL Liaison MidAtlantic Region

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Pier A.H.Blake

Executive Director

Jack and Jill Foundation 1930 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20009 Phone 202-232-5290 Fax 202-232-1747

www.jackandjillfoundation.org