Blog

As I stood at the start line of our 5th Annual 5K Run for Our Community, I was blown away thinking about the evolution of this event. What started as a small fundraising idea from some of our middle school students to raise money for on-site educational supplies has become a full-on race that now provides those same kids (plus 350 other Springboard kids!) with savings for higher education in their own Children’s Savings Accounts (CSA).

This year, we raised over $27,000, allowing us to seed and provide incentives for over 100 new accounts. We’ve said this so many times before, but it bears repeating that a child with anywhere from $1-$499 in a CSA is 3 times more likely to attend college and 4 times more likely to graduate. In other words, thanks to your support, over 100 new, low-income students are now a part of that promising statistic. We cannot thank you enough.

Over 200 people joined us on Saturday, March 30th for the race and the block party, and I think the pictures speak for themselves in showing how much fun we had! Every time we have this event I am reminded of the magic that can happen when a whole community comes together to encourage one another. Springboard residents, community partners and leaders, local supporters, property developers, board members, and others joined with one another at the start line and spent the rest of the morning celebrating at our block party. Relationships were formed, connections were made, and collectively, we walked alongside children and families on their journey toward higher education.

This race, though, was our final 5K as an organization. Over the last five years, you all have helped us raise over $100,000 that has gone directly to support the educational needs of children in low-income communities. We could not be more grateful. And we promise this will not be the last Springboard event! Stay tuned, because we already have some exciting ideas for new ways to  engage our residents and community as we support families on their paths toward their goals. 

But before we bring this chapter to a close, we wanted to take space to ensure we say thank you to all of you–for coming to the race, for making a donation, spreading the word on social media, and doing what you could to help make our 5K such a success for five years in a row!  We hope you’ll spend some time looking through our 5K Facebook album and remembering that morning, and the last five years, with as much joy as I do!

At this point, we are all pretty familiar with the most immediate consequences of the government shutdown–furloughed employees, long lines at airport security, national parks without any staff, food inspections not happening. But as the shutdown continues to drag on, the consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in our country are becoming visible. 

An estimated 38 million people rely on SNAP benefits for their food and nutrition needs, including the majority of Springboard families. These families just received the final payment of SNAP benefits available until the government reopens. Additionally, other food assistance programs like free and reduced lunch programs in schools and federal programs that help supply food pantries and other food assistance programs are at risk of running out of funding if the shut down continues. There is also concern that come February, HUD funding that provides the additional rent subsidy for our residents will no longer be available due to lapsed contracts, threatening millions of families, and particularly elderly and disabled residents on a fixed income, with the possibility of eviction.

In short, families who are already living under the daily stress of just trying to make ends meet, now have to worry that even their most basic needs will no longer be met.

While it’s easy to say that families should be prepared for an emergency, it ignores the reality of living paycheck to paycheck for many low-wage workers and the fact that 63% of Americans, across all income brackets, do not have enough savings to cover even a $500 emergency. We have written here many times before that our punitive welfare system provides little to no breathing room for low-income Americans, making it nearly impossible for families to start build savings, let alone have enough put away for months without food and housing subsidies.

While the President continues to claim that this shutdown is about the safety of Americans, the reality is that the stability and well-being of millions of Americans is being compromised every day this shut down drags on. We are deeply disturbed by the inability of our leaders to see the importance of reopening our government for the sake of an ideological symbol. But until that happens, Springboard will continue to provide whatever assistance we can to both meet immediate needs and continue to propel residents toward their long-term success.

Thank you for your support and partnering with us on this journey.