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MCUM is becoming ... Pathways. 

Dear MCUM Supporters,


I have spent the last few months sitting at the edge of my chair waiting for this day when I could finally share our big news with you all. As you may have either heard or seen by now, MCUM is rebranding with a name change to Pathways and will be changing in some major ways.


In addition to getting used to seeing our new logo and color scheme, beginning in January, 2025, Pathways will focus its program efforts exclusively on supporting families enrolled in our Compass Early Learning Center. This decision is based on a combination of factors: extensive research and successful practices from similar agencies nationally, indicating that a whole-family approach is essential for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty for those families; the need to build resource stability; the opportunity to create lasting change in an underserved population; and more. You can read more about the decision-making process on our Strategy page.


When we look at the uptick in demand for our services, particularly in our food pantry, over the past couple of years, we were faced with the question: do we eventually give 500 families one can of soup and two cans of green beans and tell them that is enough for a whole month? For us, the thought of giving so little to someone once a month begins to feel undignified towards those who come to us for help. It is like giving a sinking ship a spoon to help toss the water out. Our hearts are still with each and every person in Monroe County and we believe that they are all worthy of food and basic needs assistance. 


We understand that our navigation away from community-wide services will be difficult for everyone who will no longer be able to access support here. Those no longer served after the transition to Pathways will be provided with information on alternative resources and we are planning a series of info sessions to help them plan for the changes.


Our partnerships with local agencies remain crucial. We will support our partners in preparing for any increased demand due to our shift and continue our collaborative efforts to serve the families in our program. We will continue to offer volunteer opportunities in our food pantry and will rely on community support and donations to ensure an adequate supply of groceries for our Compass families. Our staff remains at the heart of our work to combat systemic, intergenerational poverty.


Through integrated efforts among both our Family Resource Center & Compass, we will help caregivers quantify their savings and use offset funding toward meeting other needs, establishing savings, and building assets. The powerful combination of those factors over the four years their family is in our program will help them to reach and maintain financial security, preventing their ongoing reliance on social services to meet basic needs.


For more information or to get involved, please contact me at kbroadfoot@mcum.org or 812-339-3429 ext. 11 (email is about 3x faster!). You can also visit our Strategic Plan page at www.mcum.org/strategy for the latest updates. 


I am so honored to be involved in this incredible work and I cannot wait to see what difference these changes will make for local families and the community as a whole. I hope you are as excited as I am!


All my best,


Katie Broadfoot, MPA

Executive Director

Monroe County United Ministries

kbroadfoot@mcum.org

812-339-3429 ext.11

Moving forward, our goal is to supply Compass families with an adequate supply of groceries, pictured above, weekly. This will help them offset roughly $100/week (or $5,2o0 over the course of one year), which can be use to meet their other needs.

How to Support Pathways:

Most Needed Items:


Cereal

Peanut Butter

Laundry Detergent

Dish Soap

Shampoo/Conditioner

Construction Paper


Compass

ELC Needs

Volunteer Opportunities:


Indiana Diaper Bank

  • Volunteer to go to Indy every 3 months to pick up diaper order. Please reach out to Erin at evaughn@mcum.org if you are interested.



Donate:



  • Send cash or check to us:

827 W. 14th Court

Bloomington, IN

47404



  • Endowment- Find out more by visiting our Community Foundation Fund











Thank you for your support.

Monroe County United Ministries

827 West 14th Court,

Bloomington, IN 47404

812-339-3429