Project Hope 2024: The Gift of Hope

Christmas 2024

, Dear JBI Partners & Affiliates, On behalf of The Storehouse team and the neighbors we serve, thank you for your generosity toward our neighbors that provides transformation and builds community.

The programs at The Storehouse are strategically integrated to meet our neighbors’ basic needs and work with them relationally to address the underlying barriers they face on their pathways out of poverty. Last year, we served more than 180,000 individuals, and our Project Hope program is critical to this work as it supports our neighbors personally throughout their journeys.

In this newsletter, we share with you the story of our neighbor Carla and her daughter Isabella. Through this story, you will see the deep and meaningful impacts of our work—which your generosity fuels.

Sarah Whitling, Director of Stewardship & Development, and Candace Winslow, CEO of The Storehouse Community Center receiving JBI’s generous gift in December 2023 from Tom Juhn, President/CEO of JBI Partners, Inc.

Just like Carla and Isabella have found community and transformation through our programs, our vision is to transform the lives of at least 20 percent of the neighbors we serve. Thank you for your generous and faithful support that empowers our neighbors on their journeys toward this vision.

With my immense gratitude,

Candace Winslow CEO

CARE. The mission of The Storehouse Community Center is to feed, clothe, and care as neighbors in one community.

While our food pantry and clothing closet provide neighbors with basic needs of food and clothing, our neighbor care and education programs focus on providing life-changing resources and opportunities to develop language, job, and life skills. Together, these programs work hand-in-hand to bring about long-term transformation for the families we serve.

Our food pantry serves over 4,500 families each month by providing a variety of food items.

Our clothing closet provides free clothing items for an average of 400 families each month.

Our neighbor care team helps connect neighbors with much-needed resources in the community.

Our education program provides job, life, and language skills training as well as connects neighbors with job partners.

HELPING NEIGHBORS WORK WELL Our vision is to transform the life trajectories of our neighbors so that they will no longer need to access our services. In May 2023, we launched a job partnership program to connect neighbors with living-wage jobs. To date, we have connected 66 neighbors with employment. The neighbors are identified through our Project Hope and The Academy programs. Once matched with an employer, we continue supporting our neighbors with professional mentorship through our Work Well Methodology. All neighbors who are employed with job partners also receive a deeper level of care through Project Hope.

A COMMUNITY THAT FEELS LIKE

By Haeven Gibbons

For Carla and Isabella, The Storehouse is a cornerstone of support and encouragement in pursuing their goals.

Two years ago, Carla and and her daughter Isabella moved from Venezuela to Texas in search of a better life. They initially struggled, first staying in a motel and then an apartment where they shared common spaces with strangers while Carla worked long hours in lowwage jobs. Isabella helped by translating and managing daily tasks like making appointments and paying bills.

In November 2022, Carla sought help at The Storehouse’s Seven Loaves Food Pantry. While there, she was welcomed by Project Hope team members who told her about the English as a Second Language (ESL) classes offered through The Academy. This was a turning point for Carla, who had been struggling to find a way to improve her English and job prospects.

“The Storehouse has given me motivation and encouragement to follow my purpose,” Carla said. She began ESL classes in Spring 2024, and Isabella volunteered as a teacher’s assistant. Together, they found not only language skills but a supportive community at The Storehouse.

A TRANSFORMATIVE SUPPORT SYSTEM On her first day of class, Carla felt welcomed by hundreds of fellow students, and soon became a role model, helping classmates with grammar and offering encouragement. By the end of the semester, she proudly received her certificate

for completing level 101, with her parents watching via livestream from Venezuela.

Isabella, who had always wanted to help others, found fulfillment through her volunteer work at The Academy. She gained confidence in her English skills and started teaching this fall.

Reflecting on her growth, Isabella said, “If I talked with my 14-year-old self, she would be so surprised with how much I have changed and how happy I am now.”

PURSUING THEIR PASSIONS This summer, Carla and Isabella moved into their own apartment, and Isabella finally has her own room. In making this transition, they reached out to Nancy Mendez, Director of Project Hope, who connected them with The Storehouse’s partner Dallas Furniture Bank.

Through this partnership, Isabella now has a new bed to sleep on each night.

With newfound confidence, Isabella is applying to four-year universities, hoping to study forensic science or criminology.

For Carla, The Academy opened doors to her career. She transitioned from housekeeping and babysitting to a role as a financial facilitator in the insurance field for the Latino community, earning a promotion this summer. Her goal is to be fluent in English and work as an executive in her company in two years.

Through the integration of Project Hope into each of the organization’s programs, The Storehouse aims to transform the lives of more neighbors like Carla and Isabella.

With help from Nancy Mendez, Director of Project Hope, Carla was able to find resources that helped her furnish her apartment. Carla first met Nancy in the food pantry line at The Storehouse.

Isabella enjoys helping others. She first started volunteering in the spring semester as a teaching assistant and became a co-teacher for the ESL 100 class level in the most recent fall semester.

Carla (first row, second from right) with her classmates on the first day of the 2024 spring semester. This photo sits on her desk as a reminder of the community and support she has found.

Isabella is a talented artist who enjoys sketching and painting. She will be graduating from high school in May and is hoping to study forensic science or criminology at a four-year university.

“The Storehouse has given me motivation and encouragement to follow my purpose.”

- Carla Di Stefano

“If I talked with my 14-year-old self she would be so surprised with how much I have changed and how happy I am now.

- Isabella Meza

Your gifts open doors to transformation for our neighbors. This year (January - October 2024), we have already walked alongside our neighbors in the following ways:

1,240 3,715 We received 3,715 total requests from our neighbors for resources beyond food and clothing — a 138% increase from 1,560 requests this time last year.

56 We referred 56 neighbors to partner organizations like the Center and others who specialize in providing mental health support and services.

We have spent 1,240 hours in one-on-one conversations with our neighbors so far this year. The most commonly requested resources beyond food and clothing are: Furniture, Healthcare, Housing/Rent Assistance, and Immigration Information.

131 We connected 131 families with our partner Dallas Furniture Bank. When needed, we purchase mattresses for our neighbors at a reduced cost.

97 We referred 97 neighbors to Golden Cross, Methodist Health’s Academic Clinic in Dallas, for free medical care services.

60 We responded to 60 neighbors’ requests for job resources and job referrals by connecting with potential opportunities in the community.

57 We helped provide routine screenings for 57 women on our campus in Plano through Methodist Health’s mobile mammography unit.

BASIC NEEDS

BEYOND BASICS

Our Project Hope Neighbor Care team members work together to ensure that each neighbor who visits The Storehouse can access our full pathway of programs and kickstart their journey toward transformation and self-sufficiency.

NETWORK

1-ON-1

CONNECT

REFERRALS

Nancy Mendez, CHW Director of Project Hope Nancy serves as the liaison between neighbors and external community partners. A certified Community Health Worker, she utilizes a case management approach, working oneon-one with neighbors to connect them with much needed resources beyond basic needs. Nancy’s work includes deep relationships with Methodist Health, Dallas Furniture Bank, Texas Health, La Victoria, and The Center for Integrative Counseling. These five local partners support neighbors with physical and mental health, home furnishing, and immigration services.

FOOD

CLOTHING

CLASSES

WALK INS

Vanessa Tovar Neighbor Care Coordinator Vanessa serves as the first point of contact for many of our neighbors who reach out for support. She responds to all online neighbor request forms and serves any walk ins during the week. With The Storehouse’s move to a new appointment model for food this year, Vanessa’s care in supporting neighbors through this transition has been critical in ensuring that neighbors continue to receive the basic needs they require and learn about the other programs and services at The Storehouse.

The Storehouse Community Center 1401 Mira Vista Blvd., Plano, Texas 75093 www.thestorehousecc.org | swhitling@thestorehousecc.org | 469.304.8772 @thestorehousecc