05 Nov The Capacity to Recover Quickly: How You Helped Build Our Resilience

There’s not a doubt 2020 threw a curveball at most of the world.

As a non-profit with no option of closing down, with the continued demand to provide a safe, quality, residential treatment environment for hundreds of kids – the YOC needed to be resilient. We had to stay on our toes. We had to adapt quickly. Never has the support of our donors been more important, more meaningful, or more impactful. Here are just a few of the ways you – our donors – have stepped up and shaped our resilience so far during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• As the need for face masks spiked, and their availability plummeted, a call for masks on social media yielded a steady stream of hundreds of homemade face masks. You helped keep our staff and residents safe and healthy.
• We have hundreds of staff and residents who need to have their temperature taken daily in order to quickly identify potential cases of COVID. When thermometers were in short supply, local schools (who at the time were not in session) and businesses stepped up and loaned or donated temporal thermometers.
• Local foundations provided thousands of dollars in emergency COVID-relief funding to the YOC to allow us to adapt, modify and create additional safe spaces for children to meet with counselors, etc.
• Healthcare organizations offered scrubs and other PPE for our staff to use when dealing with symptomatic residents (note: as of printing, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID among YOC residents).
• When our residents changed to e-learning to finish the school year, and activities were limited due to quarantine, you donated on social media, enabling us to create individualized activity kits for each resident.
• Local businesses and individuals showed up to support our annual Golf Outing even when it was delayed by over three months due to COVID. Businesses like our presenting sponsor, Pridemark Construction, collectively ensured this annual event, upon which we rely, continued successfully without interruption.

The list could go on and on, but one thing is clear. Our ability to respond, to adapt, to remain both tough and nimble during these uncertain times is largely due to the support of you – our donors, local grant makers and local businesses who have stepped up to the plate – even while remaining resilient in your own lives.

 For your support, your generosity, your selflessness and your unwavering dedication to our mission – we thank you.

This story is taken from the 2019 – 2020 Annual Report. To view the full report click here.