EPIC's 40th Anniversary year went nothing like we planned. Our St. Patrick’s Day and Heroes fundraisers were cancelled. Funding we rely on was reallocated to direct COVID-19 relief. A year that was supposed to be about celebration quickly became about survival.
Ironically, it also draws a parallel back to our roots and our founder, Bob Wilson, 40 years ago. Bob never expected his wife would be murdered by a child living in a foster home in their neighborhood. He never expected to learn about the broken systems in place to support abused and neglected children. But when faced with those circumstances, he chose forgiveness, empathy, and most of all, resilience. He founded EPIC so that every child would have a strong start and promising future.
Much like Bob, we have dug deep this year, set all our best-laid plans aside and focused on one thing: the needs of families. Programming like Families in Transition and Triple P quickly shifted to virtual models, new programs like EPIC Academy and Kitchen Table Talks were created. We launched support lines, parent cafes and continued to ask families what they needed during the scariest time of their lives. When they needed us most, we were there, advocating for them and listening to them. Parenting didn’t stop, so neither did we.
With your donation, you are helping the parents that struggle to homeschool and search for a job, and the children that had their entire worlds upended. Thank you for your support in this ever-challenging year, and may 2021 bring relief for everyone, in all ways.
In gratitude,
Tara
Tara N. Burgess, Executive Director
and the entire EPIC team
