A Note from our Executive Director
Dear friend,
IVYP has never been more vital to the health and well-being of our community. The COVID pandemic shines a spotlight on the role IVYP plays in supporting and strengthening families. I am writing you today to ask for your support.
Sara Rodriguez was at her wits end. Sara had lost her job and was moving her children from apartment to apartment. She worried about having food to put on the table, and how she was going to pay for clothes for her children. They were growing so fast.
Her second- grade daughter was struggling with virtual learning. With no comfortable place to study, her daughter would slump over on the floor to hear her teacher. Sara needed their small table to feed the baby, and to try to put together a resume. Sometimes she felt so overwhelmed, that she would just lie down and cry. When she received an email from IVYP letting her know she could request a study desk for her daughter, she jumped at the opportunity. She filled out the desk request and waited.
The next day, Sara got a call from Ana, an IVYP Family Advocate. Ana didn’t just confirm her need for the desk, she asked how Sara was doing. What else did Sara need? IVYP could help.
Sara shared that she was worried about food for the children. She was trying to look for a job, but needed help with her resume. When Sara learned that she could get food from IVYP’s emergency food pantry, could pick up a complete meal at the children’s center AND that our family advocate could help her with her resume, she was overjoyed.
As Sara got to know Ana better, she confessed her worst fear: she worried she was not a good mother. Sara had been so stressed, that she sometimes yelled at the kids. When she was so overwhelmed, it was easy to lose her temper. Sara began to attend IVYP’s virtual parenting classes. She began to learn skills to manage her own emotions and to help her children as well.
Things are still not easy for the Rodriguez family. But now, Sara knows that IVYP is there to support her – with child care for the baby, with after school enrichment for her second-grader, with food, counseling, and classes for her.
At IVYP, we wrap our arms around the entire family. By providing childcare, family support, and community leadership, we mitigate the negative effects of poverty, racism, and trauma that cause such negative health and educational outcomes.
We can’t do this work without you. Since March, we’ve seen our community struggle and we have been there. I hope you will be there for IVYP, so that we can continue to do the vital work of strengthening children, families and our community.
Lori Goodman
Executive Director
