Annual Report 2009

Major Accomplishments

·      Celebrated our 2nd year anniversary in our new home

·      Welcomed the Peak Vista/Ronald

·      McDonald immunization and dental van for children augmenting our successful collaboration with Penrose-St Francis and our local Health Advocacy Partnership and our free medical clinic for the un and underinsured

·      Began our first bi-monthly blood drives

·      Opened the N. El Paso County GED

·      Testing Center.

·      Saw record growth in both new families seeking our assistance as well as serving those already in our existing client family

·      Hired an experienced medical social worker adding to our client services team

·      Opened “Hangars: Your Thrift Store” benefitting Tri-Lakes Cares and serving our clients with vouchers.

How We Help

In 2009, as a community resource center, we helped over 1500 individuals in the Tri- Lakes area by:

·       Providing a food and clothing pantry

·       Giving emergency financial assistance

·       Helping students return to school for postsecondary education

·       Co-locating with the Penrose- St.Francis/HAP Community of Caring Nurse for nursing services & medical clinic

·       Co-locating with the AARP-Tax-aide

·       Program  Providing mental health counseling and legal aid with Tri-Lakes Center for Family

·       Development & offering GED testing

·       Housing the northern satellite of the Pikes

·       Peak Workforce Center (a comprehensive jobs program) & offering GED testing

·       Providing special programs such as school supplies, holiday food and gifts, & senior supplemental groceries

·       Being a Care & Share agency and operating the Federal Commodities Program

·       Offering Susan’s Closet (A wardrobe to work program) through Hangars

·       Providing other referral services

·      Our Mission: Tri-Lakes Cares is a community based

Special Projects

·      School Supplies: August 2009—We supplied 227 children.

·      Holiday Baskets 2009: With extraordinary help from Monument Hill Sertoma we distributed to over 300 families for Thanksgiving and Christmas and with the help of Safeway.

·      Children’s Gift Program 2009: We packed boxes for 427 children (up from 360) with the help of many throughout the community

·      We use the Federal Commodities Program income.

Volunteering

Volunteers R Us. We could not be the organization we are without the many committed community members who give us countless hours each year.

Highlights are:

·      Our Board of Directors always shows tremendous leadership in many ways but particularly in strategic planning so that we can grow and survive the “tough times”.

·      Several groups in the community continue to support our efforts: Sertoma with the Empty Bowl Dinner, Harvest of Love, and the Holiday Program;

·      A number of Boy and Girl Scout Troops and individual Eagle projects; church youth groups; adult church groups, student council and Serteens from the high school and others throughout the community.

·      Representing warehouse work, staffing the pantry, tax help, administrative help, special projects such as managing the Federal Commodities Program and fundraising, our estimated total volunteer hours for 2009 was over 11,000 hours adding up to over $300,000 in donated time!

·      Hangars, while having part-time paid managers, is utterly dependent on our most faithful volunteers — three each shift, two shifts each day, four days each week. The math is impressive.

·      Volunteer Awards for 2009 were awarded to:

o   Volunteer of the Year is Barbara Veermirsch.

o    The Above and Beyond Volunteers are Scott Campbell and Judith Pettibone

o   The Lifetime Achievement Awards go to June Freyer, Nell Gordon and Diane Wampler.

How Our Donor Help

·      $5 helps provide senior supplemental groceries to one senior for one month

·      $20 helps provide a holiday box for both Thanksgiving and Christmas to one family

·      $25 helps provides School Supplies to one child for one school year

·      $100 helps provide prescription assistance to one individual in an emergency situation

·      $250 helps keep the lights or heat on for a family during a financial crisis

·      $500 buys textbooks for one of our Post-Secondary Education students

·      Due to our low-overhead and generous in-kind donors, we provide approximately $5 of service for every $1 donated.

Donations 

We are thankful for the following:
 

 It takes a community…