It has been my great honor to serve as the Board Chair of West Valley Community Services (WVCS) for our 2021-2022 fiscal year. As my term comes to an end this month, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on how we have worked together to advance our mission of uniting the community to fight hunger and homelessness this year.
In light of the challenges posed by COVID-19, the housing crisis, and growing inflation impacting the cost of everything from gas to milk, the needs of our community have continued to grow - and the WCVS team has stepped up to face these challenges. I am so proud of the work of our staff - kind, compassionate, and dedicated - as they support our clients on their journey toward stability and self-sufficiency.
Here are a few key accomplishments of the agency:
The Park-It Market food program expanded to the Anderson School in San Jose, and overall we served a higher number of clients across all of our sites - more than 70% more men, women and children served year over year!
The Back to School Program expanded by over 40% in 2021, serving nearly 400 students - the largest program on record.
The Gift of Hope Program brought holiday joy to more than 1,000 people across the west valley.
The board and staff joined forces to deepen our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) - a cornerstone of our commitment to serving a diverse community. Please check out our new IDEA web page to learn more about our work.
Advocacy took center stage as we launched a new Client Advisory Committee, and increased our work around advocating for affordable housing.
Chefs of Compassion was an incredible success, raising more than $300,000 to continue our shared vision of ending hunger and homelessness.
I am honored to have carried the torch of Board Chair over the past 12 months, and together with your support, delivered food, rental assistance and critical support to families struggling with food and housing insecurity in our community.
None of this could have been possible without a dedicated and capable staff; and of course, our generous community of donors and volunteers - like YOU. I am so grateful to be a part of the great work we are doing together to fight hunger and homelessness.
Thank you so much for caring for those less fortunate than ourselves, and for making such a big difference in the lives of others.
With deep gratitude,
Jeanne
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