Neighbors Together – Mothers’ Day /
Dia de las Madres
We have been so blessed to partner with Mary Martinez for 6 years!
This year we joined the Sheriff’s Activity League to bring joy and love to the mamás/madres/moms of our community on Dia de las Madres in North Fair Oaks (NFO). We saw many smiles and emotional scenes as the patrol cars stopped at every corner to ensure we could drop off flowers. There was a mariachi serenading beautiful and familiar music and Generations United brought lovely beauty care gifts for the mamas. Tears flowed as so many have felt isolated and forgotten in the time of SIP. Many live in very close quarters so to step outside or open the door to flowers and gifts was so life-giving! Thank you Keith Miller for joining me in this journey. It was a joy to have your help with all of our packages!
To date, the Emergency Fund has given over
Thanks to your generous gifts, faithful dedication, and encouraging prayers and kind words, we have been able to come alongside our neighbors with love and provision. In May we gave over $50k to help over 30 families during this difficult time thanks to our partnerships with New Community Church, Menlo Church, Kiwanis and a very special financial outpouring from Peninsula Covenant Church and their benevolence fund. Dozens of individual donors and businesses have given and allowed us to write checks for rent, telephone bills, cable, utilities, gas cards, and groceries. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive!
Our goal is to give another $60,000 to support families in June. We have been meeting one on one with single moms and heads of households to get to know the challenges they face. This is difficult and exhausting work. Will you stand with us in this? 65% of our families lost their employment and had no reserves in place. How will they pay rent? Keep their phones turned on? Meet the daily needs of their families?
This is what we are using our Emergency Funds for!
Food Distribution and Generations United transition
Beginning March 15, GU pivoted our work to ensure we met the felt needs and essential needs of families. Our staff transitioned swiftly to create a beautiful model of love. We are in partnership with Facebook Market/Good Roots who have graciously provided fresh organic produce and food to make meals in boxes and bags. We have been serving 125 families directly every week. It feels like Christmas weekly as volunteers from our community deliver the food to the doorsteps of community members.
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Julia Dugan for allowing us to transform the American Academy of Dance into our emergency relief hub since March when we made this shift. We are forever grateful for this time and how quickly we could set things in motion! Our hard-working staff – Cynthia Nava, Andrew Cruz, Candice Bún, Benita Hopkins, and Crystal Tapelu have stepped up to serve and transition during this wild ride! We are so grateful for their hearts, their expertise and their love as they’ve done so much in these past few months and have not missed a beat!Be a good neighbor – Become a pen pal or volunteer
We have hundreds of children who would love to hear from you! If you’d like to join us by writing a note of encouragement to children, we would be honored and have made it easy to get communication to children.
You can make a difference in the lives of families right here in Redwood City by delivering a food box, reading a story on video chat, or helping us sort through donations. Visit our website to see how you can join our team.
Feet on the Street
Community members continue to make masks with Marilyn Lynch
Our food distribution is moving to PCC! Join us or give today!