Featured Image: CAN staff & CAN families shopping during our Warm the Children event
Hello Friends,

2021 has already been off to a running start here at CAN. The need in our community for food assistance is still much higher than normal so we are continuing to make adjustments and accommodations to best serve our clients. For example, in order to ensure contactless food distributions at Bryant Community Center, Dave Ribar from the City of Ann Arbor Parks & Recreation Department built a new set of stairs leading up to a sliding set of windows retrofitted in place of the old windows that were hard to fit large bags of food through. Staff and clients alike are grateful for these upgrades that help keep them safe and make food pickup quick and easy.

We could not do this without the support of our community and many generous donors and partners. Below are some highlights from the past few months along with some ways you can help us continue this work!

Thank you,
Your Friends at CAN

What Is Happening at CAN?
PPE Donations for CAN Staff & Clients
A big thank you to the Ford Fund for donating 27,000 masks to CAN! We have been able to ensure that each CAN community center is able to accommodate all staff and client requests for masks.

We also got a generous donation of masks from Amcor which have also been distributed to many community members looking for PPE. Thank you to our amazing partners!
"Break Bags" for CAN Families
A few years ago we started collecting "break bags" for CAN families as a way to help with meals/snacks over school breaks. All CAN students qualify for free or reduced lunch so during long school breaks families have to spend more money on food to make up for those meals. This winter break the Ann Arbor Social Capital Fund dropped off over 20 bags filled to the brim with delicious food for CAN families!
Holidays @ CAN
This holiday season looked quite different for all of us but we found fun and safe ways to celebrate with our families! Our friends at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor built Santa a sleigh that helped us deliver over 1,000+ gifts to CAN kids. It was a big hit and the kids loved having Santa stop by their neighborhood to hand-deliver their presents.

Each year we collect thousands of presents for children in our community. This year with the pandemic and the complexities of shopping, the USPS delays, and financial struggles across the board we were not sure if we would be able to offer this resource to as many kids as usual. We were blown away by how many people reached out and bought gifts. All CAN students were sponsored including many siblings!
Above: Santa's sleigh and Santa delivering gifts to CAN kids
CAN Art & Design Collaboration
One of our amazing AmeriCorps VISTAs, Sarah, has been working on a monthly CAN Kids Newsletter that allows students to share about themselves, write about topics they enjoy, and share their art. It has been a joy to see all the fun things kids choose to share with the peers! This is one additional way they can continue to engage with each other even when they can't see each other every day like they were used to. The newsletter is mailed each month to their homes and includes art prompts, puzzles, stickers, and other fun worksheets.
Above: excerpt from the December edition of the CAN Kids Newsletter
CAN Spotlight
Thank you to our amazing donors!
We really can't express our gratitude enough for how inspiring and generous our community is. Your donations and support have allowed us to meet the increased needs of our community by transferring many of our services to virtual or no-contact platforms. Thank you for championing our organization and encouraging our staff as they work diligently to provide educational support, food access, housing stability, and personal support to each of our clients day in and day out. We could not do this without you. For those wondering, we were able to FULLY match the $100,000 donation in December!
Looking for Ways to Get Involved?
Sign Up to Make A Monthly Donation
If you are interested in supporting CAN one of the best ways you can do that is by signing up to be a monthly donor. Monthly donations allow us to continue doing our work despite unpredictable funding. Many of our clients rely on CAN services for their basic needs and we hope you will consider signing up so we can confidently offer these services without interruption. Thank you!
As always, please consult your tax advisers or the IRS to determine if a contribution is tax-deductible.
Community Action Network
PO Box 130076, Ann Arbor, MI 48113
Community Action Network partners with children, youth, and families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for themselves and improve the communities in which they live.
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