Mitzvah Circle Foundation Annual Report 2014
-Often in giving, the life most changed is your own.
From the director Imagine scraping by alone, on social security, only to have the care of your five grandchildren suddenly laid upon you by the instability of their mother’s mental illness. Picture yourself as a cancer patient who cannot leave your home because treatments have left you in need of incontinence products you cannot afford. Envision the desperation of waiting to be approved for government assistance, or the humiliation of being turned away by service organizations that don’t address your need. Now imagine the relief you feel upon discovering that Mitzvah Circle Foundation can help. One in five people in every community is struggling to meet needs that most of us would consider basic…food, clothing, and adequate shelter. Chances are that within ten minutes of your home, there are children without school supplies—who have never owned a book. In your own neighborhood, someone is dealing with a crisis—fire, illness, or shocking loss. We want to give them the essentials they need to move forward. That’s why Mitzvah Circle Foundation operates in the space before traditional organizations give help, when people in desperate situations need assistance without bureaucracy. We support individuals, families, schools and partner organizations, both locally and nationally. When I started Mitzvah Circle Foundation, I began without seed money or funding, with only my vision and commitment to serving the most vulnerable. In short, I began by doing the work. But I couldn’t do it alone. Over the past five years, I have seen that vision grow exponentially, as hundreds of dedicated volunteers, donors, and partner organizations have joined Mitzvah Circle Foundation’s critical work. Together, we walk with people from darkness to light. We want you to join us! You can help us create a better world for all people.
Sincerely,
Fran P. Held Fran P. Held Founder and Director
Giving is how we serve those whose names we do not know.
Mitzvah Circle Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which provides material support to individuals and families dealing with crisis, poverty, homelessness and serious illness. Through careful assessment and building personal relationships, we promptly determine needs and deliver individualized assistance. We serve people who are unable to obtain immediate or sufficient help from government agencies and traditional service organizations. Mitzvah Circle Foundation is not faith-based; we treat everyone with kindness and compassion, restoring hope and honoring dignity.
How We Help Mitzvah Circle Foundation collects and organizes items donated by individuals and businesses and distributes them quickly, without bureaucracy, to people in need. Much of our support goes to people and organizations in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, but we also ship necessities to individuals and organizations in 35 states. Mitzvah Circle Foundation has established a highly effective network of businesses, community-based organizations, social workers, teachers and other professionals dedicated to uplifting families in times of crisis. In addition to our own volunteers, 69 groups, such as employees of United Healthcare and Ameriprise Financial, supported our programs by donating and collecting food, toiletries, household goods, shoes and clothing last year. To strengthen our work and the communities we touch, we strive to continually engage new organizations.
Our Key Projects We created a Diaper Bank because the average baby living in poverty has just one diaper change per day. We go beyond diapers, providing baby gear, toys, and other infant essentials to families in need. Our Homeless Outreach Program gives the gifts of hope and dignity to hundreds of people each year by regularly providing quality shoes, clothing and other essentials to 12 area shelters. Our Adopt-a-Class program provides school supplies, enrichment materials and other essentials to children living in poverty. By collaborating with school staff, we reach some of the poorest families, so the students lacking the most have a chance at success. Food Project volunteers deliver donated food from grocery stores and bakeries to shelters, community centers and food banks. Food4Hope is an innovative food program component, in which volunteer groups collect and assemble food into personalized, uplifting bags for those who struggle with hunger. Care Project supports medically fragile and vulnerable individuals and families through personalized assessment, bridging gaps until other services are obtained, and providing ongoing assistance via donated items. Our Classroom4Good provides space for community groups to engage in meaningful service projects across program areas.
2014 Accomplishments We are dedicated to improving the lives of those in need AND uplifting those who give, creating a circle of kindness, hope and generosity. In 2014, we:
Expanded our Diaper Bank to distribute 14 times more diapers than 2013 (from 17,000 diapers to more than 238,000)
Nurtured partnerships with 69 referring organizations
Held our first Volunteer Appreciation event
Hosted Family Fun Day to engage the community at Montgomery County Sports Performance Center
Grew our human capital—adding two part-time staff members, and two board members
Were listed in Good People Guide 2014
Held three signature fundraising events—Barnaby’s in Havertown, BAPS Charities Walkathon and Fine Crafts & Art Show at Gwynedd Reserve
Celebrated our 5-Year Anniversary with a donor engagement event and fundraiser
Had our Executive Director recognized nationally, with Office Depot Foundation’s Listen, Learn, Care Award
We believe that poverty is a lack of money, not a lack of humanity.
Impact Heather, a recipient, wrote, ‘We found Mitzvah Circle Foundation when we were experiencing a really hard time in our lives...They have always been there for us, supported us and never judged us. It's funny because it seems like on my worst days I would come home to a box from them, always with a hand written note that made me feel empowered and cared about, filled with diapers and other things that we really needed that day. I am a full-time college student. I have four children, stepchildren and my husband is disabled... it's been a long road. Knowing that there is an agency filled with people that have nothing but love in their hearts that are just a phone call away has meant the world to me.’ Jessica, an intern, shared, ‘Before Mitzvah, I had a vision of what working in the human service field might look like but I never imagined I would be so excited about the services I was able to provide for people in need... I received one-on-one attention that I don’t know that I could have gotten in an establishment that was not as driven by passion for human life.’ A social worker at Early Intervention of Philadelphia told us, ‘My families tell me they have never felt so cared about, treated so well, as they do when they speak to the people at Mitzvah Circle. These are people who only know getting help means long lines, bureaucracy, and unkind, undignified treatment. You’ve changed that for them.’
Our volunteers At Mitzvah Circle Foundation, we embrace the ideals that every person matters, small things can make huge differences, compassion and kindness are free to share, and that there are times in each of our lives when we can give, and other times when we each need help. Our dedicated volunteers include physicians, nurses, physical therapists, teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, IT professionals and others who share our passion for supporting vulnerable populations. These highly skilled individuals manage our website, support our technology needs, consult with our recipients, provide administrative support, coordinate special events, sort donations, pack boxes in our warehouse, pick up donated items and make deliveries.
2014 Donor Organizations Abington Friends Camp
Gwynedd Reserve Social Action Committee
Or Shalom
Abington Friends School
Iceland Transport, Inc.
PA Ventilator Assisted Children's Home Program
Abrams Hebrew Academy
Impact Thrift Stores, Inc.
Penn Suburban Chamber of Commerce
Ameriprise Financial
Independence Capital Partners
Power & Grace Gymnastics and Dance
Arcadia University Hillel
Gratz High School
Prudential Annuities Group
Artex Knitting Mills
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Quadrangle
Baker Interdistrict Elementary
Jewish Learning Venture
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
BAPS Charities
J Kid Philly
St. Helena Church
Berk Wiper International, LLC
Jubelirer Strategies
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Beth David Reform Congregation
Keystone Motors - Doylestown
Target
Born to Run
Laurel House
Temple Sinai
Brownie Troop 7767
LeBus Bakery
TEVA Customer Analytics & Marketing
CMI
Leverington Presbyterian Church
The Fashion Studio
Congregation Or Hadash
Liberty Lutheran
Women's League of Tiferet Bet Israel
Coventry First LLC
Main Line Reform Sisterhood
Tito's Vodka
Cultural Care Au Pair
Manhattan Bagel
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
De Lage Landen Financial
Merck
Urban Hound
Feed the Children
Moms Club of Schwenksville
United Church of Christ
First Quality Products/First Medical
Moms Club of North Wales
United Healthcare
Forman Mills
Montco Sports Performance Center
Weis Market
Get it Stoned, LLC
North Penn High School
Worcester Brownies
Giant Food Market
NYE Group
Worcester Elementary Home & School
Golden Slipper
Office Depot Foundation
Zenkraft, LLC
2014 Recipient Organizations Bancroft Elementary School
Gifts of Love
Parkside Association of Philadelphia
Birthright of Pottstown, Inc.
Good Samaritan Men's Shelter
Patrician Society of Norristown
Book Em
Good Samaritan Women's Shelter
Paul Fly Elementary
Boy Scout Troop 622: St. Titus Church
GW Carver Elementary School
Phoenixville Area Community Services
Brady Elementary School
Hancock Elementary School
Project Home, 1515 Fairmount Avenue
Buchanan City Dept. of Social Services
Impact Thrift Stores, Inc.
Prudential Annuities Group
Bucks County Housing Group - Milford Square
Interfaith Hospitality Network
Pulaski Elementary
Bucks County Housing Group-Bensalem
Interfaith Housing Alliance Ambler
Reading Area Community College
Bucks County Housing Group-Doylestown
JCC Klein Branch
Richard Wright School
Bucks County Housing Group-Morrisville
Jefferson Place
Richmond Avenue School
Building 53
John Barry Promise Academy School
Salvation Army Shelter
Catholic Social Services
Kids and Family
Samaritan Village
Central Montgomery MH/MR Center
LaSalle Neighborhood Nursing Center
Seeds of Hope
Cole Manor School
Laurel House
Shepherd's Shelf Of Christ Lutheran Church
Community Connections-Pottstown
Lutheran Children and Family Service
Single Parent Fellowship
Connecting Point Outreach
Manna on Main Street
St. Agnes Outreach Services
DelVal Community Health Fairmont Primary
Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard, Inc.
St. Malachy's R.C. Church
Discovery Elementary School
Mitchell Elementary School
Temple Health/Ctr for Population Health
Dulce Elementary School
NHS
Welcome Church
Eastern University Academy
NHS - TFC/FCP
Wild West Delivery
Eliza Shirley House Salvation Army
Nurse Family Partnership
Youth Emergency Services
Fredrick Douglass Stubbs School
PA Ventilator Assisted Children's Home Prog.
2014 Grant Sources These organizations provided direct grant funding in 2014:
J&G Schwartz Family Foundation
Strategic Goals Moving forward, our most critical priorities are to: Reinforce infrastructure to sustain expansion. As we celebrate five years of meeting the needs of people in crisis, we must expand physically and administratively to accommodate a rapidly growing pool of recipient and partner organizations. Toward that end, we will identify new revenue streams to secure larger operating space, and underwrite increased professional staff hours. Our growing staff will ensure reliable customer service, seamless communication and consistent volunteer opportunities. We will continue to focus on data management to ease inventory control, contact tracking, and mass communications. Finally, we will increase marketing efforts, to raise awareness and engage recipients and supporters via traditional media, interactive social media and search engine optimization. Build stronger relationships. We do more than provide individualized assistance to people in crisis. We continuously assess needs to identify viable long-term solutions. We will broaden relationships with recipients to provide more direct education, referrals, and non-material support. We will deepen ties with partner organizations, to identify populations in need, and maximize resource sharing. While cultivating new volunteer and donor streams, we will increase communication and ongoing engagement, to convert special event participants to long-term supporters. Nurture future leadership. To meet growing recipient needs, and promote long-term sustainability, we must provide a pathway for committed stakeholders to assume leadership roles to amplify limited staff resources. This includes identifying lead volunteers to assist with evening and weekend programs, and maximizing pro bono opportunities among volunteers with specialized professional skills. We will also develop an on-going teen initiative, to foster loyalty among our most energetic and enthusiastic young volunteers, while continuing outreach to colleges and universities to consolidate recent growth in our internship program.
Board of Directors Fran P. Held is the Founder and Director of Mitzvah Circle Foundation. Rabbi David Ackerman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania.
Silas P. Norman, M.D. is a Clinical Associate Professor, Internal Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, Section Of Transplantation at the University of Michigan. Rabbi Hal Rudin-Luria is Rabbi at B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, Ohio. Cynthia Weiss Stein, Esq. is an attorney practicing Family Law in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Wendy Urban is a professor of Information Systems and Technology at Temple University.
Michael Drobny is a senior Associate in the Accounting Advisory Services group within the Transactions and Restructuring practice at KPMG, LLP. ‘I have strived to create a culture of warmth, passion for service and commitment to excellence.’
Massimo A.V. Magliari is a certified financial planner and co-founder of Kelman and Magliari Advisory Group,