Transportation is rated "extremely important" to many of the charities TFT serves.
 
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News, Status and Articles
In this Tasks for Transit Newsletter, for December 2017, we feature our latest news, publish some basic statistics and summarize our accomplishments for 2017. We will use the abbreviation TFT for Tasks for Transit throughout this newsletter.

Brian Manning, Co-editor
Steve McClure, Co-editor

News
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Tasks for Transit has been in a growth spurt! For 2017, we planned to more than double the number of bus day passes that we distributed in 2016. We did achieve the plan! (see featured  article below).
  •  We are now serving 21 partner charities
  •  In November we added the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. (They coordinate the Continuum of Care meetings, a group meeting aimed at helping the homeless in Central MA.)
  •  In December we added Dismas House (housing, employment for ex-convicts).
Status

From March 2015 through December 2017  
  •  Number of charities supported = 21 annually, and the temporary winter months homeless overflow shelter (Hotel Grace)
  • WRTA day passes dispensed = 2520
  • Current price for a single-day WRTA bus pass=$4.50.
TFT Partner Charities
What is a Partner Charity?

TFT's Partner Charities distribute the WRTA individual bus passes. Since TFT's mission is to assist the economically disadvantaged, TFT chooses partners that service this population on a daily basis. Partner Charities have the understanding and experience necessary to recognize a person and his or her situation that justifies dispensing a free single-day bus-pass. These Partner Charities are typically 501(c)(3) organizations, not able to provide transportation to their clients. TFT enables them to do that for their most needy clients.

The twenty one current TFT Partner Charities are:

·          South Worcester Neighborhood Center (wide variety of services to poor)
·          Standup for Kids (homeless youth)
·          Safe Homes (LGBT youth)
·          Parent/Professional Advocacy League (youth mental health)
·          Straight Ahead Ministries (felons coming out of prisons)
·          Clemente Courses in the Humanities (free college-level courses)
·          Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Worcester (families in crisis)
·          Hope Coalition (troubled youth)
·          Woodland Academy (homeless families)
·          YWCA Domestic Violence Services (abused families in crisis)
·          Worcester Homeless Shelter at SMOC (the primary Worcester shelter for homeless adults)
·          Eliot Community Human Services (mental health services)
·          Friendly House (neighborhood center, homeless shelters)
·          Veterans Inc. (homeless shelters for veterans and associated services)
·          Visitation House (adult homeless pregnant women)
·          Planned Parenthood (women’s medical care)
·          Multicultural Wellness Center (mental and behavioral health counseling)
·          LUK Inc. Crisis Center (homeless youth)
·          Central Mass Housing Alliance (vocational training, employment counseling)
·          Dismas House (housing and employment for ex-convicts)

Featured Article
2017 Accomplishments
The 2017 accomplishments for Tasks for Transit are as follows

  • Exceeded our revised fundraising goals by 56%
  •  Expanded the TFT net worth by 19% year to year.
  • Met our goal to expand the number of partner charities from 9 to 21.
  • Met our goal to distribute 10 passes per month to each partner charity once they were added to our list of partner charities.
  • Successfully navigated mid-year funding challenges caused by the WRTA's funding shortfalls.
  • Touched the lives of as many as 1690 people directly, and many more indirectly.
  • Gained broad name recognition in the Worcester non-profit community.
  • Established a fairly full complement of social media presence including website, Facebook and, Youcaring, including a TFT video. 
o   Initiated and continue to publish a monthly newsletter sent to an audience of
o   several hundred people.
  •  Executed a successful yard sale raising at least $890.
  • Laid the groundwork for fundraising for 2018.
  • Added $4,895 to the WRTA's revenues for 2017, most of which was probably additional business that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

We could not have done all this without the generous giving of our many donors, both individuals and organizations. Thank you. Here is the distribution of our sources of income for 2017.

  34%   $ 3,223 Individual Donors
 33%   $ 3,040 Organizational Donors
 22%   $ 2,100 Grants
   1% $ 100  Crowd Funding
 90% $ 8,463 Total Donations
  10%  $   890 Event Income
100% $ 9,353.00 Total Income

We have met our fundraising goal for this year, thanks to many generous individual and business donors! All we need to do is to double that amount next year!! That effort has already started, with publicity for TFT’s program; renewal requests for funds sent to individuals and grant applications filled and sent out. Please consider this TFT newsletter a direct request for you to help us raise $15,000 to support the TFT 2018 budget.

Also, we encourage you to support our donor organizations, listed on the sponsors’ page on our website .

Walking Across the City in Winter is a Hardship
Donations
Walking in snow mother and child
We Need Your Support!
We see Tasks for Transit as a fundamental charity trying to meet one essential need of the economically disadvantaged: safe and dependable transportation for persons who would otherwise have to walk or not go to appointments, interviews, or even grocery shopping. While walking is sometimes an alternative, it is a burden for the handicapped, daunting for everyone in foul weather and an unsafe alternative at night. 
 
To support our efforts with an online donation, you may go to our Crowd Funding page on youcaring.com.
 
We continue to be an all-volunteer organization with no employee costs and no office costs! You can be confident that 99% of your donations will go directly to purchase WRTA bus day-passes.

Sincerely,
Brian Manning and Steve McClure
Tasks for Transit
379 Greenwood Street, Suite 4
Millbury, MA 01527
617-851-0313
  We also have a Post Office Box
Tasks for Transit
PO Box 70544
Worcester, MA  01607

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Contact | Tasks for Transit | 617-851-0313 | | contact @tasksfortransit org |www.tasksfortransit.org