2021 November Neighborhood House Quarterly Newsletter

Neighborhood House 1020 S. Matthew St Peoria, IL 61605 www.nhpeoria.org November 2021

Quarterly Newsletter New Leadership, Same Mission

It is our mission here at Neighborhood House to serve our community no matter the circumstances. We were all challenged with this in new ways during the COVID pandemic and continued to be throughout internal transitions we faced within our own organization. We are proud to have been able to continue to provide services to our community despite the hurdles we faced.

We are thrilled to announce that Neighborhood House has welcomed a new President/CEO, Julie Bonar. Julie brings a wealth of leadership experience and a shared passion for supporting the community.

“I could not be more eager to accept the position as President/CEO to this well-established organization that consists of a talented team and long history of dedicated donors and nonprofit partners,” says Bonar. “My goal in leading Neighborhood House is to continue the 125-year tradition of community impact through the life-changing programs.”

Prior to coming to Neighborhood House, Julie has been an educator within the Peoria 150 School District since November 2018, after moving to Peoria from the Washington D.C. area. Most recently, she taught Business Education at the Knoxville Center for Student Success (KCSS). Previous to moving to Peoria, Julie served as the Director of Religious Education at St. Joseph's Church in Pomfret, Maryland. For over ten years, she served as the Director of Chapter and Member Resources for DECA, Inc – a student organization with more than 200,000 members.

Julie hold’s a Bachelor’s of Science from Philadelphia University and a Master’s of Education from Bowling Green State University.

Our Neighborhood House team is excited to have Julie on board and is motivated to be working towards a common mission-focused goal of service to our community. She will be an incredible asset to our organization as we continue to provide programs that benefit the community.

Inside this issue Strengthening Community for 125 Years.................................. 2 Holiday Community Support Events....................................... 3 Meals on Wheels ..................... 3 Donor Societies ........................ 4 RAGBRAI - Pedaling Wheels to Provide Meals .......................... 5 Food Fight 2022 ....................... 5

Strengthening Community & Impacting Lives for 125 Years Since Neighborhood House was established in 1896, we have been meeting the needs of the community by providing people education and resources to empower them to be successful through all life stages.

Our founders were progressive thinkers and established programs, services and taught trade skills to meet the needs of the immigrant community at the turn of the century.

For 125 years Neighborhood House has been changing the landscape of the Peoria area and impacting lives for countless families and individuals.

Today, Neighborhood House continues the progressive thinking of our founders by providing ever changing services to best meet the needs of the community.

Thank you for your support of Neighborhood House and our life-changing programs. It is because of YOU and your support that we are able to continue our 125-year tradition of making a difference for so many right here in our own community.

Unfortunately, the current situation with COVID-19 has limited our ability to celebrate such an accomplishment in a typical way. However, we aren’t letting that deter us. In lieu of an inperson anniversary event, we are pursuing the completion of a History Wall project that will allow us to pay proper tribute to our founders and the legacy of community support they created.

As part of this project and 125th Anniversary celebration, we would like to offer our supporters the opportunity to continue to be a part of our history of community impact by joining our new Donor Societies, outlined on page 4. Each tier of our Donor Societies offers donors a small token of appreciation and community impact directly supported by your chosen level. In addition to supporting our programs, our donors will also help fund the completion of our history wall project, allowing us to pay tribute to our 125 year history and help usher in the next 125 years of community service.

While our hope is to once again return to in-person fundraisers, these Donor Societies will provide our fellow community advocates the opportunity to continue to support Neighborhood House and our programs year-round no matter the circumstances.

To learn more about our History Wall or to become a part of our Donor Societies, visit www.nhpeoria.org or contact Amanda Rassi at 309-674-1131 ext.246, amandar@nhpeoria.com.

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Neighborhood House Donor Societies •

$125 Anniversary Society: Celebrate our 125th Anniversary by donating $125 Includes: A 125th Anniversary calendar and quarterly newsletters to keep you up-to-date on Neighborhood House happenings. Recognition and sponsorship of the addition of our logo and mission wall in our entryway.

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$250-$500 Educate Society: Neighborhood House works to provide resources to our community to help them reach their education goals. A donation of $250 allows Neighborhood House to fund 2 adult learners’ GED testing fees. By giving to the Educate Society, you are assisting our Adult Literacy program by financially supporting these testing fees, as well as our student workbooks, textbooks, and computer lab.

Includes: A 125th Anniversary calendar, quarterly newsletters, and a copy of an inspiring book Neighborhood House uses for community discussions. Recognition and sponsorship of the addition of our history wall in our lobby.

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$550-$1,000 Empower Society: Neighborhood House strives to empower our community to lead prosperous lives. A donation of $550 enables Neighborhood House to provide 200 children's meals to our youth. By giving to the Empower Society, you are assisting us with the following programs: Youth Services (Summer and After-School Programs) and Financial Empowerment and Employment (FEE).

Includes: A 125th Anniversary calendar, quarterly newsletters, and a holiday gift given to one of the children in our After-School program on your behalf. Recognition and sponsorship of the addition of our history wall in our lobby.

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$1,300 - $2,600 Feed Society: Neighborhood House is honored to have been delivering meals to local senior citizens since the 1970s. We remain dedicated to providing safe and healthy meals every day to our senior citizens. On average, it costs Neighborhood House $1,300 to feed a senior citizen for one year in our Meals on Wheels Program.

Includes: By joining the Feed Society, you can provide meals for 1-2 seniors for a full year. You will also receive a 125th Anniversary calendar and quarterly newsletters to keep you up-to-date on Neighborhood House happenings.

Recognition and sponsorship of the addition of our history wall in our lobby.

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$3,000 and above Oakford Society: As a founding member of Neighborhood House, A.S. Oakford helped establish a nonprofit that has been positively impacting the Peoria community for 125 years. For generations the Oakford family has established a legacy of leadership, by continuing to be instrumental in Neighborhood House programing. Honor the commitment the Oakford family has made through their philanthropic spirit, generous donations and support of Neighborhood House by joining the Oakford Society.

Includes: A 125th Anniversary calendar, quarterly newsletters, early access to register for all of our annual events, and recognition on our Oakford Society Members Plaque to be displayed at Neighborhood House.

Recognition and sponsorship of the addition of our history wall in our lobby.

To become a part of our Donor Societies or to learn more, return the included insert, visit www.nhpeoria.org or contact Amanda Rassi - amandar@nhpeoria.com, 309-674-1131 ext.246.

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Holiday Community Support Events Thank you to all who donated and supported our Winter Coat Giveaway.

Your generosity made it possible for us to giveaway over

400 coats For more information on volunteering and supporting our holiday programs, contact Trevor Neff 309-674-1131 ext. 243 trevorn@nhpeoria.org

Each year around the holiday season Neighborhood House looks forward to supporting our community through our various holiday programs. These programs offer a great way for anyone to volunteer and support the community during the holiday season.

Santa for Seniors This annual tradition delivers over 1,400 gifts to homebound senior citizens in our Meals on Wheels Program. Volunteers are needed to stuff gift bags and deliver these gifts.

Gift Bag Stuffing November 22-24, 2021 - 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Gift Delivery Sunday, December 5th, 2021 – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Children’s Angel Tree We have once again adapted our Children’s Toy Shop into an Angel Tree for the kids enrolled in our youth program during COVID. We need of individuals, families or businesses to sponsor the children and families on our Angel Tree.

Angel Tree Gift Pick-Up Tuesday, December 14th, 2021 – 6:30 a.m. – 5: 00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 15th, 2021 – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Peggy Wise (pictured below) is one of our Meals on Wheels clients and is grateful for our home delivered meals. The consistency of providing daily servings of vegetables, helps give her the confidence to manage her dietary needs for her health conditions.

What an amazing community we live in!

Thank you to everyone that reached out and offered to support our need for Meals on Wheels delivery drivers.

We are beyond grateful to have received such a HUGE response, our current staffing needs have been met for this program.

To learn more or to support this program, contact Alex Cheesman, alexc@nhpeoria.org, 309-674-1131 ext. 231.

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Meals on Wheels When food insecurity hit record high numbers during the height of the pandemic, we met our client’s needs and the growing demand until that need exceeded our limited resources. At that time we unfortunately had to implement a waiting list.

We are delighted to share we received emergency COVID relief funding and an incredibly generous $50,000 donation from PAR-A-DICE that allowed us to remove the waiting list and serve all clients on the waiting list.

Thank you PAR-A-Dice for your continued support and generosity.

Neighborhood House is passionate about the well-being of homebound senior citizens and with continued support from our community we will continue to ensure they retain the comfort that comes with that familiar knock at the door.

RAGBRAI - Pedaling Wheels to Provide Meals With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we have been unable to host our traditional in-person fundraisers to support our life-changing programs.

However, after a year-long break due to COVID, we were excited to once again be able to participate in our newest event, RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), July 25-31, 2021.

This annual, week-long event challenges cyclists to travel a 426-mile state-wide route across Iowa. Our Neighborhood House team consisted of seven riders, each taking on the challenge of fundraising on our behalf prior to and during the event.

Although our RAGBRAI riders are done pedaling this year, you can still support our Meals on Wheels program www.nhpeoria.org

Thank you to our entire Neighborhood House team for all your efforts! You did an amazing job battling the weather, terrain and every obstacle this course threw at you. You not only pedaled 426 miles but you helped us make a BIG impact for our community and our programs by raising $30,371.96!

Thank you to all who supported our riders this year! Even without pedaling, you are helping support Neighborhood House and making a difference for so many in our community. We are grateful for your support and commitment to our community.

RAGBRAI will be back next year and we would love to add you to our team. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Amanda Rassi - amandar@nhpeoria.org, 309-674-1131 ext. 246

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

– Helen Keller

Save the Date for Food Fight 2022 Thursday, February 24th, 2022

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We are excited to announce that planning has begun for Food Fight 2022! The restaurant industry suffered significant strain during the pandemic. Neighborhood House is honored to have so many local chefs and restaurants that were still able to support us through those struggles. We are excited to once again partner with them for this fundraising event to support our community. Watch our website and social media for event details and ticket information.

Neighborhood House 1020 S. Matthew St Peoria, IL 61605 www.nhpeoria.org

Our Mission: To provide a safe environment, resources, and education to empower our community to reach their fullest potential through all life-stages.

FEED - EDUCATE - EMPOWER Thank you to all our donors and supporters! It is because of YOU that we are able to hold true to our mission and continue to make a difference in the lives of so many right here in our community.

Your contributions are making an impact! www.nhpeoria.org

35,000 Children’s meals distributed

215,000 Scan here to support our life-changing programs.

Meals on Wheels delivered to local seniors

70 Adults assisted in education classes and job coaching