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chapelhill.porchcommunities.org |
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The NC Huddle – July 2022 |
Hello!
Welcome to PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro's quarterly message that we send to all Neighborhood Coordinators (NCs), hoping that it will provide support and inspiration for the incredible work that you do.
In the past three months, you collected $52,505 worth of non-perishable food items. During that time, we provided 1,146 bags of non-perishable goods to our Food for Families participants and 505 bags to the local pantries we serve – all thanks to your efforts!
With record inflation taking its toll, more and more families are in need of assistance. If you know of a neighborhood cookout or block party happening between now and our next PORCH dates (Aug. 14 and 15), consider handing out some PORCH swag and resources (such as postcards, magnets, or T-shirts) and recruiting more neighbors to participate. If you see new neighbors moving in, take the time to introduce yourself and invite them to get involved. Emphasize that there is a greater need in the summer, when children are without the meals provided through the school system.
Here are this edition's helpful hints and updates:
– When you come to Extraordinary Ventures, our volunteers try to make it easy for you by greeting you at your car. But – you can come inside! Take a look at the entire operation as items are sorted and bagged. Take a photo to help your neighbors visualize the fact that they are part of a larger effort that has collectively provided more than $4.5 million in hunger relief ($823,874 last year alone)!
– Speaking of photography, consider photographing your food donations before you head to Extraordinary Ventures and then sharing that image the next time your correspond with the folks on your email list. Set up the bags by the community pool in the summer or in front of some seasonal blooms. Get a beloved neighborhood dog in the background this fall. Place the non-perishables next to some twinkling lights in December. Have fun with it!
– When following up with neighborhood donors about the food collected in previous weeks, assign a dollar value to it. We estimate that one bag of food translates to $20. So you can calculate your dollar amount based on how many bags you collected, and then do the math on how many families that helped – $50 provides 10 days’ worth of food to one family. For example, if you collect 15 bags of food, that equals $300 worth (because $20 multiplied by 15 equals $300). Then you can say, “That means that 6 families in our community had more than a week’s worth of food because of our neighborhood's generosity” (because $300 divided by 50 equals 6). If you keep a running tab of your neighborhood’s non-perishable contributions over time, it will be so meaningful to report what you’ve accomplished in 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc.
– Look to our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) for quotes from families enrolled in our programs, behind-the-scenes photos, the latest statistics, and news updates. Feel free to borrow that information as you talk to your neighbors about your role as NC! You can include a snippet in your correspondences, such as, “One participant in PORCH’s Food for Families program recently shared: ‘Most of our income, we have to [use to] pay for our bills, so we don’t have enough money to buy healthy food. We are so grateful to be part of this program.’” Or: "Did you know that PORCH packs halal bags for some Food for Families program participants? Halal means foods that are permissible under Islamic law. As PORCH's vision statement states, the organization believes that each person in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community should have sufficient nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active, productive, and healthy lifestyle."
– Keep in mind that you can drop off food donations on Sundays from 3 to 7 p.m. at Extraordinary Ventures. In fact, getting donations on Sunday really helps us get the non-perishables sorted early so we can plan for how much food we can pack in our Food For Families bags! Sunday won’t work? No problem! Drop off from 8 to 10 a.m. on Mondays. A reminder that the next drop-off dates are Sunday, Aug. 14 (3-7 p.m.) and Monday, Aug. 15 (8-10 a.m.). We will send an email reminding you of these dates (and linking to our monthly message so that you can forward that to your contacts) on Aug. 8 and 12.
– When you come to Extraordinary Ventures in August, be sure to check out our PORCH Swag and Resource Table. Our (free!) PORCH merchandise is designed to assist you in your role as NC so you can recruit and retain donors, communicate effectively, and thank your neighbors. We have vinyl stickers, T-shirts, yard signs, yard sign toppers, postcards that allow you to introduce yourself as NC, thank you postcards, and car magnets. See photos of the available items.
– In case you missed it: Our Food for Thought advocacy program is back! It takes less than 5 minutes to write a postcard while you are at Extraordinary Ventures. Let our legislators know that we are paying attention and that we insist they enact policies that prioritize our most vulnerable neighbors.
– Please spread the word as best you can that we cannot accept expired goods. Check those dates!
As always, if you are interested in scheduling a one-on-one consultation with our team to discuss ways you can enhance your neighborhood’s PORCH activities, please email us at chc@porchcommunities.org. We’d be happy to brainstorm with you! Thank you for all you do for PORCH!
Best,
The PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro Team
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PORCH Fact Sheet
Here are some key facts and statistics about PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro that you may want to pass along to donors and potential donors as you share our mission and correspond about upcoming collection dates:
– We provide fresh food, too! In 2021, we distributed more than 350,000 pounds of fresh food (potatoes, green beans, apples, broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes, onions, and peppers, along with chicken, eggs, milk, and more) and 173,360 pounds of non-perishables! Plus, $315,762 in grocery gift cards.
– We also distribute nutritional information and recipes to support fresh food consumption. The 35 to 40 pounds of food that each family receives lasts an average of 10 days, and 93% of families report they consume all the food provided each month always or often.
– What difference does a monetary donation make? $5 provides milk and eggs to one family; $25 provides chicken, milk and eggs for two families; $50 provides 10 days’ worth of fresh food to one family; $300 sponsors a family for six months; and $600 sponsors a family for a year.
– Among our 200 monthly volunteers are fantastic interpreters who assist with communicating with our families in Spanish, Burmese, and Karen.
– Local businesses and organizations sponsor our Food for Schools program, which provides supplement snacks to students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools who are hungry and struggling to concentrate in the classroom. Each school receives $1,000 worth of food in a school year – cheese crackers, granola bars, applesauce, apples, protein bars, trail mix, fruit bars, and more. To learn more, check out our recent feature on this program.
– More than 10.8% of adults and 12.2% of children in Orange County are food insecure, meaning that they lack sufficient food for an active, healthy life.
– We currently have about 115 active neighborhoods around Chapel Hill and Carrboro contributing non-perishable food each month. Plus, many civic groups, places of worship, workplaces, schools, etc. hold one-time or annual food drives that generate many bags of non-perishables.
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Meet Your Fellow NCs
The following NCs have come on board in recent months. We are so glad to have them as part of this remarkable team!
Molly Yates, Camden Lane
Sydney Lin, Lake Hogan Farms Hogan Woods Circle
* Lise Williams, Oak Crest
Stella Schmaling, Quarterpath Trace
* new neighborhood as well as a new NC!
We are always seeking additional NCs. If you know of someone outside of your neighborhood who may be well suited for the role of Neighborhood Coordinator, please send them a compelling note explaining why you do this work and how rewarded you feel by it. You can pass along the link to our Neighborhood Coordinator information page, which gets into the nuts and bolts of what NCs do; it includes this very handy video.
Becoming an NC is a great opportunity for high schoolers looking to gain leadership experience before they head to college!
Encourage anyone interested in becoming a Neighborhood Coordinator to get in
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It Takes a Village
Young Willa often accompanies her father, Dakin, to our food sorts to drop off the non-perishables they collected. Along with mom, Stephanie, and brother, Malcolm, they are NCs in Bel Arbor. During a recent collection, a group of kids playing outside thought that this volunteer work looked like so much fun that they decided to get in on the action.
In all, seven kids pitched in as they took their wagon from porch to porch! Teamwork makes the dream work!
(In the photo, Willa is wearing the pink striped dress, Malcolm is on the far right, and Dad is pretty easy to spot!)
If you have a story from your recent PORCH volunteer efforts to tell, please share! It will help us illustrate our mission, thank our many volunteers and donors, and amplify our impact on social media, in our emails to supporters, and more. Email andrea.cash@porchcommunities.org.
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PO Box 16363
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
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