East End Community Services – A Call to Action
This post will be a little different from our typical FBF content. But in a very good way.
If 2020 teaches me anything, then I am holding onto the human ability to adapt. To grow. To evolve. And our FBF community will be doing just that over the next few months.
Our authors have been talking much about orienting ourselves more around community involvement and incorporating social justice into what we do. The key word there being “do”. It is one thing to talk about change, and an entirely other to act. And our sole mission is to change the truly tragic aspect of American life that is most upsetting to us – that the zip code a child is born into dictates their chances of success in the future.
You will be seeing more on this from us, and maybe even a rebrand and a new website in the future.
These conversations have been happening within our community of female leaders for the past few months, and we had our first (socially distanced) lunch meeting yesterday with a small group. I left feeling energized in a way that I have not in a very long time.
Let me introduce you to Jan Lepore-Jentleson, Executive Director of The East End Community Services (photo above). She is the epitome of being fearless, and she is lovely, engaging, and absolutely focused every day on the people she serves.
You may or may not be familiar with the East End of Dayton, but the entrance is Xenia Avenue close to I-35. I became informed about the East End Community Services through board work for CleanEnergy4All, and was impressed with all that they do for the neighborhoods that they serve.
The East End Community Services has improved the lives of countless residents in their neighborhood with programs focused on children, adults, and neighborhood revitalization. From after school care that is safe and nurturing to support for women struggling with opioid addiction and setting them up for post-rehab success, this program provides an extraordinary number of services for their community residents.
The East End of Dayton is less than 10 miles from my house.
Of the 3,748 children under the age of 18 in their neighborhood, 72% of them live in poverty.
That is 2,698 children living in poverty.
Which is equal to the entire student population of Centerville High School, the third largest high school in the entire state of Ohio.
Think about that visual. Every student in a massive high school living at the poverty level. Which means they are constantly under stress about when and what they will eat, if they have clean clothes that will fit them, and if they have the necessities like shoes and a toothbrush.
Folks – we are better than this. And the reasons as to why they live in poverty are secondary to the fact that they do live in poverty and we want to change that.
Jan is open to our support, and this is where the excitement comes from as we think of what that looks like. Their most immediate need is funding to continue meal delivery to 4,000 families in the Dayton area struggling with the impacts of the pandemic. Note that this meal creation and delivery are grassroots efforts at its best. Multiple nonprofits coming together to share funds and coordinate to fill in the gaps. We will be working with them to fundraise for this effort and spread the word.
I hope you will consider joining us! And more to come.
PS – A great read about a child’s chances of success in life based on zipcode is “Reading with Patrick” by Michelle Kuo. She is an absolute rockstar and a Dayton Literary Peace Prize winner. I highly recommend.