 Wow, it is so wonderful to be back here at CCTV. My name is Wanda Hines, director at JUMP, the joint urban ministry project. And we are going to give you an update to see what's been going on with JUMP over the last few years. And I'm pretty sure many of you have got a lot of explaining to do. I'm not explaining, I mean more like sharing. It's like, what's been going on? Well, I'm here today with our board president of JUMP, Katherine Stockman. Good morning. Good morning. So, how are you feeling today? Great, it's nice to be out and about after all that rain. After all that rain, how about all of, I don't know, just great to be out and about period. As you can see, I'm just very excited to be out here. So Katherine is our newly elected board president. And so tell us a little bit about yourself, Katherine. I came here to Vermont to join my daughter and her family. Okay. And I started working with JUMP about 16 years ago. So you've been... I have been involved with JUMP for a long time and my heart is with JUMP. Well, it seems like you're the woman for the job and you've been doing an excellent job and I've enjoyed working very closely with you as we plot and move, you know, plan to move toward the future. And myself, it seemed like yesterday, but myself, I've been at JUMP now nine years. I was hired in 2013 as their first full-time director and I still carry all the passion and commitment for the work and the people that I work with. You do. Yes, I do. Well, thank you. It's a joy, joy, joy, joy. Program, we're gonna talk about some, where JUMP is now, but where we're going in the COVID kind of adjustment thing. But first, let's have a little bit of introduction. Who is JUMP? Well, JUMP was founded in 1988, okay? They were founded by, I would say, five downtown faith community churches. And I wanna name them. The First Congregational Church, College Street Congregational Church, First Baptist Church, Cathedral Church of St. Paul's and the First United Methodist Church. They were seeking to improve, increase and consolidate assistance for people in need. But there was this one gentleman who really made it happen and his name was Nathan Johnson. Nathan Johnson, back then in 1988, he used to collect cans. He was a canner and he'd get a nickel of can. Little did we know that when Nathan Johnson died in 1988, he left the trust fund of $10,000. Yes, he did. Yes, and he wanted those funds. His preference was helping people, helping the small, single individuals or people living in poverty. He wanted a small group of organization who had that shared interest to use that funding to make sure that that happened. And what happened was determined and grateful the five congregations pooled their resources and added additional funds, $6,000. They were awarded the $10,000 and that's how JUMP started. And I always like to say, what is it? Big ideas can have small beginnings and I'm proud to say JUMP has been in existence now over 33 years, nearly 33 years. That's a classic story. It is, big ideas. I mean, persevere, just keep going. Nathan Johnson, I mean, he was a heck of an individual. He loved to joke, tell jokes downtown with the businessmen. And yeah, and just big ideas can have small beginnings. And so that's how JUMP got started. And in 2005, we were originally under the umbrella of St. Paul's Church, but in 2005, we became our own independent Vermont nonprofit organization and the work continues today. And so that's where we've been and who we are. So I'm gonna turn it over to Catherine and tell us about JUMP now, where we're at today. Well, as you all know, we were all affected by COVID and JUMP was certainly affected by COVID. We couldn't open our doors and have people come in as they used to. They used to be able to walk in, sit down, get a cup of coffee, talk to some of the volunteers. It was a haven for many people, but we couldn't do that. So the doors closed. And then we went to an online program which allowed people to be able to get assistance online. Which was fabulous, 24-7, which we had never had before. Right, yeah, before it was JUMP was just open four days a week and you could only arrive from nine to noon. And it always kind of really just frustrated me and hurt me because we could only see a limited number of people per day, that was 12, and people would line up for hours. And I like to come in early usually. I get there at seven o'clock in the morning sometimes. Doors didn't open until nine when people were lined up outside because those basic essentials were important to them. And so when we did make that pivot to online, it became 24-7. We upgraded our phone system to VOP, which is I guess technology and the internet where we never missed a call. We always got back to people. And instead of just having that one way to access services, we went to four different ways where they could mail in an application. And you can still do that today. Or you could call, jump for an application to be mailed to you. Or you can submit online as well. I mean, they're just, and then we also have a quarterly care call program, which means every three month staff and volunteers would call individuals who are in, well, not mobile, not able to access services in person. But anyway, good. He was so appreciative of that. Yes. They love it. And our volunteers enjoy doing it also. Yeah. Contact again with our quiet base. Yeah, I think that one of the things that really bothered me even is, the isolation and not having that one-on-one, that contact, to look somebody in the eyes, there's a certain kind of comfort when you are physically present in someone's life. And so that was definitely void. And we are basically supported by 28 faith communities with at the time over 60 volunteers. Right. One day, they had no purpose. They weren't able to come to jump. They weren't able to be there every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and to reconnect with these long-established relationships with our participants, our clients over the years. And so what we did, we were able to preserve, we still have intact now, about 30 to 35 volunteers, some serving on boards, committees and such. But we have about, I want to say 25 that are on the quarterly care call program, which means they get to reconnect. And every three months, they have that same individual that they're connecting to, ensuring that they get the need, the services that they need. And they do that with the quarterly care calls, but we also have a walk-in program now every Thursday. Yes, every Thursday now. From nine until noon, where people can come right to the first church. We are open again now for walk-in, in-person services. We did this last year because it really heard us that we were unable to, especially after COVID had happened and everything closed down, for nearly a month, we were unable to serve unhoused populations. And so we did eventually work it out where we worked with over 50 care service providers, case managers and such, where we would send the resources to them because the unhoused didn't have a residential address and they would provide the next visit, those resources to those clients, which I thought was excellent. It was a win-win situation and encouraged those or it made more visible and more clear, wrap around support services for the unhoused that at the time. And so that was excellent. But last year we decided we were going to get back out there on that front line and we opened our door last July and we're open now for walk-in Thursdays, nine to noon. If you need services, you're unhoused, or just, you know, if you need assistance, you know, you need to just show up with your ID and we will be there. And chances are you may already be in our database anyway, so we're open for walk-in services online, walk-in Thursdays or we have, again, combining along with that ongoing remote online services, we have that. Now, look. And this all means that we've expanded our services. Yes. So good came out of COVID. Yeah, I was gonna say that was the silver lining to us. And we also have a jump news letter with all these e-mail addresses. We now have a jump news. I like to call it jump news bringing new, bringing need and resources together. Once a month we have over 1,000 participant e-mail addresses and we let them know whether it's free legal counsel, healthcare, shots, I wanna say diapers. Or right now we're gonna be advertising the free computer classes that they're gonna be having at the library right now. But to keep people or ourselves, I mean, especially with the isolation, how do we stay informed when I'm not looking at you face-to-face? And so that was something. And another thing that we do is every three months with these e-mails we can query and send people a reminder that they are not eligible for jump services. And every now and then I'll see somebody, especially at the walk-in. I like doing the door, being around people. I say, how do you know about jump? How did you know? And that person would look at me and go, Wanda, you sent me an e-mail and I go, oh, oh, okay, yeah, I did, I did, I did. And so jump has really changed the way we do business, but for the better. So I'm excited about that, obviously. And some of the services that our clients can get are being phased back in again. We used to have a lot more. Yes. We had many more vouchers than we were able to give out. We had nearly 26, 27 vouchers for local services. I like to say supporting the local economy. And so because of COVID, we were kind of forced to just focus on the most basic essential and there was limited amounts we could put in that envelope because we're mailing those resources directly to you now when you visit online with your proof of residency. You must provide proof of residency and matching address with your state ID or your utility bill. So for right now, we can provide you and we will if you qualify a $35 food gift card for city market or a Hanifert, which you can buy food, non-food, also a shell gas card for $35, either or if you qualify with matching car registration and a valid driver's license. And we also will pay your utility bill. This is something new right here, $50 on your utility bill. Every three months can make a difference. And you need to submit your utility bill online. And the utility bill, we've added an additional $15 to help subsidize it because we believe it's important because we believe this will help keep families in their home and help them maintain good credit by not having their utilities disconnected. Because once your utility is disconnected, that's bad on your credit report. And that's gonna allow you to move toward that economic independence, okay? And so right now... Don't forget the thrift store. That's right, the thrift stores. And laundry vouchers. That's right, we also have the thrift stores as well. We have a possibility shop every Monday and Goodwill, along with the laundry vouchers. That was something for a whole year, we didn't have the laundry vouchers. Can you imagine not having a place to do your laundry? Now we have greers, two locations, and we also have the thrift store, the laundry place in Winooski. And I forget the name of that one right now. Right, I can't remember either. But the thrift stores are especially important right now because of school starting again. Yes. And because of winter coming on, people can get warmer clothes and all of that. Yeah, and the other laundry man is called Close Quarters Laundry. Oh right. And he is just so caring about the participants, or people who come there. They have laptop computers along the outside, they've got a little place where you can get coffee. I just love how it is such a welcoming environment there. The Close Quarters Laundry at the top of Main Street, Winooski, near the Winooski High School, excellent. And lastly, last year jump spent over $11,000 on vouchers to help families in need meet their most basic essential goods. And the most sought after voucher, 58% was for food relief. And the other most sought after was for utility assistance, keeping families in their homes. And so I want to say that, yeah, there's a silver lining, you know, keeping families in their home, making sure people get the basic essential needs that they need. And I also want to throw out a reminder for people that city buses are free until next year. Okay, we used to give out the bus vouchers and I was like, oh no, we're not able to, but I want to commend GMT, Green Mountain Transit for having those buses out there free. Buses are free all throughout Chittenden County. Okay, get on the bus, come see us, walk in Thursday, we're there. If you don't have the means to mail or, well, let's say, get on the computer. Or if you miss us that way, just come on down and see us. I just love seeing people. I've been in a house so long myself, you know. It's just wonderful for us to be out here again. Some people can't get bank accounts, Wanda, right? That's right. So we offer them an opportunity. That's right. Opportunities, credit union. We'll be opening up with our new initiative project that we're gonna be talking about later. That will not be for just the broader on the menu, but it will be for a designated population. We'll talk more about that. So we're gradually bringing opportunities, credit union back. We are bringing back old spokes home also. There's just something about that COVID and the impact. I think it had a silver lining, and I'm pretty sure for a lot of nonprofits it really kind of caused us to really kind of look at the way we deliver services. Look at the impact. Can we be doing more with less? And good, we did. It seemed like jump managed during that time. Very creative. Yeah, to do more with less, to be more effective, and the way we look at things and how we communicate. And so we're very proud of that. But anyway, let us move on here. Yes. Let us, yeah, jump. We're here. We're back. We're moving. We're moving. We're moving. Which brings us right in to moving. Yeah, we're moving with the virtual annual. We are here also to invite you to our annual virtual run for jump. Ba da! 15 days for jump. And... So get out and move. Get out and move. And this was something that the run for jump has been going on now. I believe it's about 25 years. And so because of the COVID and the impact, we moved it to online for the first time in 2020. And so this will be our third year doing the virtual run for walk online. But at the same time, we also invite you to get out there and participate as well. Now, let me see. Am I supposed to be doing this part? Or yes, I am. So let me go more into detail. Okay, we're having our annual run for jump. 15 days for jump. You're invited to participate September 24th through October 8th. Now, what is the virtual run for jump? The 2022 virtual run for jump is a fun event that helps jump provide much needed assistance to hundreds of Vermont families and individuals in need. It's an event for everyone, the adults and youth. They can register right online. They can invite support from their families, friends and neighbors. And it's amazing. We've been doing it for years. And now what's the goal? We hope this year to raise $14,000. We have now over 4,500 raised. We want to raise this $14,000 to fund our direct services for Vermont households in need, for Vermont households in need. So that goes only to client services. Yeah, for client services, yes. That's nearly for this 14 days for jump. That's nearly $1,000 a day from the kickoff, which is September 24th to October 8th. And I believe that together we can do this with your help and your support. Over the last couple of years, we've been very successful. Now, the kickoff event, we're turning it into a kickoff event. And we are going to be doing it on Saturday, October 24th, where? We're gonna do it from 10 to noon at Jump's Outreach Center at 38 South Annouski Avenue, which is gonna be at, and we're housed inside the First Congregation of Church in Burlington. And we're inviting you to come, join us, help support the cause, enjoy being downtown, and meet others who support Jump's cause. It's a fun time. It's a really fun time. And you can register online for the virtual run or walk for jump at, I would say front stream. But more importantly, I would say go to Jump's website and you'll see the link there on the run for jump page about how you can get involved. And definitely we invite you to check it out. We have refreshments. And we have refreshments. Some delicious homemade goodies. Yes, yes, that'll be there. And so again, when we do do the kickoff, let me see here, what are we gonna do? We are going to ask you to come down in person for the kickoff. And like Catherine said, there are gonna be a bunch of goodies. Well, here it is on the event details and registration page. Go to our website, you'll get this page, the event details registration page. Now, the event is gonna kick off. So let's gather for the event that will officially begin the run for walk. Arrive at 38 South Fonuski Avenue anytime between 10 and noon on Saturday for this upbeat outdoor event. And as Catherine said, there's gonna be complete, complete with delicious snacks and an update on Jump's mission by me. And enjoy being downtown again, like I said, and meeting other people. We're also gonna be offering rewards at the event, at the end of the 15 days for Jump. There will be individual fundraising awards and team fundraising awards where prizes will be awarded. And let me see. And we ask you to go online and get sponsors for your walking or running. Yes, we would love to see that. You don't really have to get out there and walk or run, but it's a good thing to do. Yeah, I'm always healthy. I'm always thinking, healthy heart, healthy heart. And that's kind of one of the things that kind of took up over the last couple of years is just being in the house, you can only do so much and not being mobile. So get on out there, get yourself a healthy walk in, get yourself a healthy heart walk or walk stroll, bike, but get outside and just do it for Jump and take a picture of yourself and send it to us and say, you know, this is my virtual walk, run, stroll for Jump. And we would love that. It's a great community event, a great family event. And let me see, am I leaving off anything else? Well, we also have all banners out there and posters. Yes, we will. Honoring our sponsors, some of our major sponsors. Yes. Also. And Ken, could you tell us about those sponsors, Catherine? We have some wonderful sponsors. We have got Global Foundries, which is a terrific organization. Used to be IBM, Shelburne Pond Studios, which is a wonderful artistic community in Shelburne. We have J&M Groceries, Timberlane, and Dental Group is a new sponsor this year. Yeah, for the first time this year, Timberlane Dental Group, thank you very much for supporting Jump. Thank you. Lunigs, Bistro and Cafe, Mackenzie's Country Classics. Actually, I think I live in a house where Mackenzie's meets started. Whoa. Yeah, it's pretty interesting. So you're linked, huh? We are linked and there's a ghost. Now, give big praise here to these underwriters. Go ahead. Oh, absolutely. Maribel's Bakery, a new one this year also. A new one this year, made possible. Fabulous. These are actually our underwriters, I say. These are the ones that really- Right, major sponsors. Major, major sponsors, go ahead. Rick Robinson, very, very generous donor. MBT Bank. And this is like the fifth year that they've level funded us. Right. For being an underwriter to make this event possible. We would not be able to do it without any of these sponsors. And it's for a good cause. It is. And like you said before, and there are more sponsors coming in, Catherine. Many more sponsors coming in. I forgot to mention African Americans living in Vermont. Yeah, the Association of Africans Living in Vermont. Yep, they're in there also. Wonderful organization. Yeah. So we're just beginning. Just beginning. But it doesn't mean that we're gonna stop. No. But we want you to begin right now by visiting Jump's website. Click on that link. Visit our front stream page and find out all that information and share it with family and friends. And we hope to see you down there during the kickoff on September 24th. Introduce yourselves to us. Introduce yourselves. We know who you are. Definitely, we wanna know. All right. All right, let's go. We're gonna move on to the next item. Jump. Very exciting, very exciting. Jump will be introducing a new initiative in November. And this initiative is called the Flex Community ID. And the Flex Community ID card, actually, the Flex Community ID card is going to be launching on November 1st. And what it is, it's an initiative coordinated with community partners to eliminate barriers and improve access to needed services to a specific population. It is anticipated that the Flex Community Picture ID card will help roughly 100 unhoused residents in the next year to access community benefits, services and resources. In addition, there will be 50 Flex Community ID cards will be available to recently incarcerated residents to help with identification need. Data shows that formerly incarcerated people due to the revolving door of incarceration are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general population. And so we are looking forward to this initiative. And we are gonna be, again, focusing this initiative, the Flex Community ID card, which is something that's not uncommon across the US. Like everywhere, like many other places, homelessness remains a significant and growing problem in Vermont. The annual point in time shows that we've got, we've seen a 7% increase of persons homeless in Vermont compared to the prior year. And also- It's not just individuals, it's families too. Families as well. The homeless population, including those that are formerly incarcerated, many are survivors of domestic violence, those suffering from recovery of substance abuse, the elderly, transgender and such. The Community ID card would help assist them to obtain basic essential services. And this program in itself has been established around the country for some time for those who need IDs, including the Faith Action ID Network in North and South Carolina. We wanna say Florida, Virginia. Many places, this resource has been needed, the Community ID card, because it's helped with increasing the access to people who have traditionally been turned away, I would like to say that. And we don't have that right now. And we don't have that card right now. And so there's more to say about the card and the Flex Community ID will eliminate barriers and provide access. And we came across this because we noticed at Jump, when we opened up our doors, that we were turning away people unhoused because they didn't have an ID. And I was like, wait a minute, there's no, and that's always been our policy. You must have a state ID, we must be able to identify you. And so we did some research and we've come up with the Flex Community ID project. And we are just kind of moving in line with what the need is in our community right now. Our community partners, which we have in this project and who have our community partners include the Brownton Police Department. They include the Opportunities Credit Union, City Market, Champlain Housing Trust, as they will be overseeing the Elmwood Emergency Shelter community of 30 pods for homeless individuals. And Jump will be present there every three months or every other month with the Flex Community ID card applications and benefits. Also another sponsor of this event, Collaborating Partner is the CBOEO Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity Resource Center, followed by Old Spokes Home, Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and Vermont Interfaith Action. And so we've, that's some of it. I didn't tell you everything, but meanwhile, meanwhile back at the ranch, I guess that went quick. It did, but in closing. In closing. Waiting for closing. Go ahead. I wanna urge everybody to get involved with Jump. It makes you feel good. It's wonderful people. We have all sorts of things to do. We've got the board. We've got committees. Yeah, steering committee, the boards. You can work directly with the clients also as a volunteer. Yeah, there's a process for that, so. But if you're interested, get in touch with us first. Meanwhile, stay tuned. And my closing words are thank you, CCTV, for your commitment to assisting people in need in our community as well. Together we can make a difference. To learn more about the annual 2022 virtual run for Jump, please visit Jump's website at www.jumpvt.org. Hey, this has been great and we're gonna be back. What do you say? What do you say? We're coming back. All right, we're back. No, we're already back. All right, everybody, take care. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Thank you.