Children’s Home Society
We have been very blessed to have received numerous grants from the McDonough Foundation over the years and each one has had an incredible impact on our clients and our agency. The most recent award to our Family Support Center came at a crucial time for us and the area. Funding had been cut for food stamps and our food pantry was nearly bare. We had seen a significant increase in visits to our Cardinal Family Support Center Food Pantry, over 60% increase from the entire previous year in just a short four month period. It was a crisis for many individuals and families. The grant we received from the McDonough Foundation came at just the right time. It allowed us to restock our shelves and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as meat products. We were able to meet the needs of many families who otherwise would have gone without.
A great-grandfather who frequently comes to the pantry has custody of his two great-grandsons. While he is retired, he continues to work part-time mowing lawns, struggling to feed his growing grandsons, especially when school is out. With the McDonough funds, he has been able to provide nutritious food for his family. He talks about what he can cook with the foods available to him and always thinks of others, calling ahead to ensure there is enough food in the pantry without taking away from others. This gentleman has been so appreciative of the assistance.
A mom of a teen daughter comes to our pantry regularly. This mom struggles with many health issues. She does her best to shop sales and find deals when doing her grocery shopping, but because of her health struggles, she has to choose between having gas for appointments in another city or having food in the home. She can relieve some of that burden by coming to the Cardinal Family Support Center to get items she can't afford at stores, such as meat and dairy products. She always looks carefully at what we have to put together meals, never taking more than she needs. Thanks to the McDonough funds, we can provide items we often can't purchase regularly, such as seasonings, frozen vegetables, milk, and eggs.
These are just two of many stories we could share where these funds made a huge difference in the survival of these families. We absolutely could not make a difference in the lives of the people we serve without the support from the McDonough Foundation. Funding from the Foundation has also provided support for our Transitional Living Program and Permanency Program. The Transitional Living Program used past funding to support homeless youth by providing financial assistance to help them obtain and apartment, get utilities established, and start-up needs such as groceries and other household essentials. This was critical funding at a time when we had an overwhelming number of homeless youth seeking services. Our Transitional Living Program has an 84% success rate because of support from grants and funders such as the McDonough Foundation. It is such a wonderful feeling to see these youth blossom and grow into independent, contributing members of our society.
Our Permanency Program was also blessed with funding to help grow our Foster and Adoptive Parent Resource Library. This was a special project we have wanted to do for many years. We have so many parents who want to know how to help children coming into their homes who have such great trauma histories. The resources we have been able to purchase not only help the parents know what to do but also help children process trauma and attachment issues. The resources in our library have had an impact already with foster parents being able to find the right materials to address the various forms of abuse and neglect suffered by the children in our care. This has positively impacted them and allowed them to feel confident taking children into their homes.
We will forever be grateful for the support we have received and cherish the partnership we have built over the years.
