Www.sunflowerharbor.org
Our board meeting was Nov 1 via text to allow for social distancing and safety.
1. Implemented a registry for Sunflower Harbor on registry. Com
https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/sunflowerharbor
I've just begun adding things to it. It should be complete in a week or so, life permitting.
2. We discussed how amazing Sunflower Harbor is doing and how we surpassed some goals and fell short of other goals set this year.
Goal 1: 12 placements. Achieved 60 direct placements and 6 who entered our intake program achieved their stable housing goal
Goal 2: make enough in donations to support our mission. We have not achieved this, but we have done a lot more than we ever dreamed we could! We need more community support to make this goal.
Goal 3: networking. We've surpassed our expectations on this. We now refer to several agencies and know where to get help locally for most anyone who wants it.
Other milestones:
329 blessings bags
7 people helped getting ID
8 job placements, but lots more job referrals
2 of 2 veterans who stayed in our emergency housing moved into stable housing
Direct placements of 5 veterans in stable housing with the help of various veterans programs
We discussed fundraising.
We set up a registry at myregistry.com that we will be adding to over the next couple of weeks.
Visit https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/sunflowerharbor
We have a long list of needs on our website www.sunflowerharbor.org under outreach and in house tabs that will slowly be integrated into our registry.
1. Currently, we are raising money to finish our bunkhouse. We also take donations of materials new and used that we can use to build. We need insulation for the next step and yellow romex.
Share the fundraiser! Current layout for the bunkhouse will allow us to have emergency housing for up to 15! We have beds for 5 at the moment. The bunkhouse will have a full kitchen, full bathroom with a shower, and laundry room. We have many things we need for it, but still lack many building materials and appliances. We would like it built before the weather gets dangerously cold. If you can give toward this project, please do! Winter is coming on us quick!
More twin beds will be needed once it's complete.
Capacity is currently 6 beds plus couches. The bunkhouse will increase this.
2. We need interview clothes for the job search project. We also need cash funds to pay for ID. We currently have funds for 1 person to get ID.
3. Antonrogers.com is running a fundraiser for us with t-shirts, necklaces, bookmarks, totes, and more
4. Tentatively scheduling a 2 night valentine's fundraiser. Details to be hashed out by the event committee soon! Halloween went well, raising almost $100
5. Memorial plaques will be available for purchase soon. You can choose to have them shipped to you or put on the wall of the SunflowerHarbor bunkhouse.
6. Random needs: need truck to pick up donations and haul off trash. Need the tiller fixed for the spring garden. We need veggie plants for the garden. Seeds did not work last year. We need our own commerce website to put items we have for fundraising. We need leather to make more purses and wallets with sunflowers on them for fundraisers.
7. Gift cards while we do not give out gift cards, they do allow us to buy specific things we need. Stores we buy things from a lot are dollar tree (blessings bags), home depot (building supplies for bunkhouse), Walmart (most other needs)
We then reminded everyone to go out in teams. Do not approach strangers alone.
We need a couple more people on the event committee! You don't have to be a board member to help!
Item donations have been awesome this week! Getting more and more of the household items we need for the bunkhouse!
Reminders:
Blessings bags. We are currently out of bags and everything that goes into them except toothbrushes. We rarely make a new contact now that we've been active in abilene a while. The way we've been handling it is asking what's needed and having one of our Abilene sunflower ladies deliver it. We're doing a lot of follow up. Checking on people we've placed and those we couldn't. Followup is sometimes the difference between someone being able to stay in stable housing or homelessness reoccurring. We use the blessings bags to break the ice and find out what their real needs are. We've given out 34 since last blog, all adjusted for the individual's need.
Placements. We do most placements using direct help from locals. Our Abilene Sunflower Ladies are great at networking. They find placement for the individuals we come in contact with. We can not place everyone, but Abilene has an excellent network designed to help the homeless, so those we can help are easier to help and we've been able to help many more than I ever imagined this year! 12 placements have been made since last blog. One of our biggest hurdles for placements is down-payment + first month's rent which not everyone qualifies for help with. Once we have other projects handled financially, We'll be setting up a fund for this. Look for it sometime in 2021.
Job search fund. Our job search fund helps with clothes, and identification needed to land a job. Job search fund can always use help. Many times, we can get locals to directly pay for these things, but not always. The fund is set up as a loan, but not everyone who uses it pays back, so it does need a boost from time to time.
Www.antonrogers.com is still running fundraisers for blessings packs for us. T-shirts, bookmark, totes, bags and more are on sale there and all procedes from the Sunflower Harbor tab go to buying supplies for blessings packs!
Cash App: $Sunflowerharbor
SUNFLOWER HARBOR HOMELESS OUTREACH
www.sunflowerharbor.org
