2019 was an exciting year for Springboard To Opportunities. We watched families move to home ownership, land jobs in career fields they have been working toward, speak on national stages about creating family-centered policies, apply for college, and reach hundreds of other goals they had set for themselves throughout the year. While there isn’t room in this newsletter to share all the amazing stories we heard, we wanted to provide a glimpse into what this past year has held for us.
In 2019…
2,206
residents in affordable housing communities received direct assistance through Springboard To Opportunities’ programs and services.
Services operated in…
10 affordable housing communities,
in 6 different cities,
across 3 states.
Education Opportunities
568 children participated in regularly occurring after school or summer programming.
New partnerships, including one with the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson, Mississippi, provided high-quality, after school programming to even more students.
We raised over $33,000 to seed and fund Children’s Savings Accounts through our 5K Run for Our Community and Giving Tuesday campaign.
Building Success
177 residents participated in Springboard to Success programming, helping them achieve financial and career-related goals.
We worked with the Bank On Jackson Coalition to create an accessible checking account for residents.
STO moms spoke at two national forums with Ascend at the Aspen Institute and the Ounce of Prevention Fund about the need for policy changes for family-supportive workplaces and innovative economic opportunities.
Stronger Communities
22,588 meals were served to STO families facing food insecurity.
104 residents at Windsor Valley in Edgewood, Maryland helped plant, maintain, and harvest their Community Garden, a project that was created and led by middle school students who participate in Windsor Valley’s LitClub programming.
Over 60 STO resdients and other community members came together to help package items donated to children and families affected by the ICE raids that took place in August in Mississippi.
6 new Community Care Closets were established with basic need and personal care supplies in partnership with UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi.
The Magnolia Mother’s Trust
And finally, we launched our guaranteed income pilot, The Magnolia Mother’s Trust, providing 20, low-income, African American mothers with $1000 each month, no strings attached, for 12 months. We will be releasing a full data report with results from the pilot in January 2020, along with additional details about what the next iteration of the program will look like. But until then, we invite you to watch the video put together by our partners at the Economic Security Project featuring interviews with participants from our program, as well as a similar pilot currently underway in Stockton, California.