Below is our year-end appeal letter:
Fall 2020
Dear friends,
Friendly House has been making a positive impact in the Quad Cities for more than 124 years, but few years have been like 2020. COVID, coronavirus, and derecho were words few of us had heard of or used regularly before this year, and yet their impact is something we will never forget. Like many other local non-profits and businesses, Friendly House has strived to weather the storm- literally in some cases- to continue offering valuable services to families in need during these turbulent times.
We’ve been consistently trying to adjust services on the fly to respond to needs and provide care for families. Earlier this year we converted our Family Services- such as our food pantry- to curbside operations in order to ensure people still had access to basic needs during the quarantine. People who lost jobs and income worried about meeting these needs, and Friendly House was there to help.
When the Davenport School District unveiled their hybrid schedule, Friendly House recognized that families with children who cannot be left unattended need access to a safe, affordable place for kids while family members are at work or at school. Friendly House was there to meet their community need by expanding our Youth Services programming to include all day services.
But we need your help. Various safety and quarantine measures led us to make the difficult decision to cancel 3 fundraising events in 2020. We have also lost typical income through building rentals for parties and celebrations. Both of these were unpredictable outcomes when we started the year, and both are a direct result of the coronavirus. Together, we estimate that Friendly House has lost roughly $95,000 of revenue, money that annually goes to support vital services we provide for children, families, and seniors.
Would you please make a gift this year to support Friendly House and our efforts to respond to the needs of children, families, and seniors here in the Quad Cities? Here are other ways your support will help Friendly House continue to be difference makers in the Quad Cities:
Throughout its history, Friendly House has made a difference in our community through the Spanish Flu epidemic, the Great Depression, 2 World Wars, stock market crashes, economic recessions, and more. For more than a century, we have continued providing vital services that enrich lives and strengthen neighborhoods. Would you join us in this valuable mission?
Please make a gift to Friendly House this year to help provide hope for families in our community. Below you’ll find a few suggested giving levels. Your support can make a difference with every generation in a family- children through seniors- that Friendly House serves. Together we can help these families battle through viruses, storms, pandemics, or whatever else life throws at them.
Please help Friendly House by being a difference maker for the sake of our community. Thank you.
All the best to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Jim Farber
Board President
$116- FH Donor
$369- Bucktown Donor
$1237- Myrtle St. Donor
$3840- Fran Ivory Donor
$6720- Jane Addams Donor
Where did we get those numbers?
Each giving level means something (all numbers are approximate):
• FH Donor: annual cost to provide food for a family visiting our food pantry (12 visits per year)
• Bucktown Donor (our first location): annual cost to provide lunch to our senior participants
• Myrtle Street Donor (our current location): annual cost of caring for one K-5th child on our Plus Days (in-service, break & inclement weather days) during the school year
• Fran Ivory Donor (our well-loved Director in the 1980’s and 1990’s): annual cost to cover emergency service vouchers given to families (clothing, prescriptions, laundry, gas)
• Jane Addams Donor (founder of the settlement house movement in America): annual cost of caring for one full day preschool child
*All gifts to the annual appeal will be used where the need is greatest.
Thanks again for your support.
Dear friends,
Friendly House has been making a positive impact in the Quad Cities for more than 124 years, but few years have been like 2020. COVID, coronavirus, and derecho were words few of us had heard of or used regularly before this year, and yet their impact is something we will never forget. Like many other local non-profits and businesses, Friendly House has strived to weather the storm- literally in some cases- to continue offering valuable services to families in need during these turbulent times.
We’ve been consistently trying to adjust services on the fly to respond to needs and provide care for families. Earlier this year we converted our Family Services- such as our food pantry- to curbside operations in order to ensure people still had access to basic needs during the quarantine. People who lost jobs and income worried about meeting these needs, and Friendly House was there to help.
When the Davenport School District unveiled their hybrid schedule, Friendly House recognized that families with children who cannot be left unattended need access to a safe, affordable place for kids while family members are at work or at school. Friendly House was there to meet their community need by expanding our Youth Services programming to include all day services.
But we need your help. Various safety and quarantine measures led us to make the difficult decision to cancel 3 fundraising events in 2020. We have also lost typical income through building rentals for parties and celebrations. Both of these were unpredictable outcomes when we started the year, and both are a direct result of the coronavirus. Together, we estimate that Friendly House has lost roughly $95,000 of revenue, money that annually goes to support vital services we provide for children, families, and seniors.
Would you please make a gift this year to support Friendly House and our efforts to respond to the needs of children, families, and seniors here in the Quad Cities? Here are other ways your support will help Friendly House continue to be difference makers in the Quad Cities:
- Friendly House was one of the few non-profits that didn’t close during the quarantine. When schools closed, some families were put in a difficult position: going to work meant no childcare, but staying home might have led to a loss of employment. Friendly House was there to help.
- Friendly House enacted heightened measures of health and safety protocols, limiting access to program spaces, taking temperatures of all staff and participants daily, and following heightened sanitizing procedures (which added additional costs)
- Friendly House modified our Senior programs to provide masks, social distancing, and other important safety measures. This valuable generation needs programs designed to enhance their wellness and avoid isolation, and Friendly House was there to help.
Throughout its history, Friendly House has made a difference in our community through the Spanish Flu epidemic, the Great Depression, 2 World Wars, stock market crashes, economic recessions, and more. For more than a century, we have continued providing vital services that enrich lives and strengthen neighborhoods. Would you join us in this valuable mission?
Please make a gift to Friendly House this year to help provide hope for families in our community. Below you’ll find a few suggested giving levels. Your support can make a difference with every generation in a family- children through seniors- that Friendly House serves. Together we can help these families battle through viruses, storms, pandemics, or whatever else life throws at them.
Please help Friendly House by being a difference maker for the sake of our community. Thank you.
All the best to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Jim Farber
Board President
$116- FH Donor
$369- Bucktown Donor
$1237- Myrtle St. Donor
$3840- Fran Ivory Donor
$6720- Jane Addams Donor
Where did we get those numbers?
Each giving level means something (all numbers are approximate):
• FH Donor: annual cost to provide food for a family visiting our food pantry (12 visits per year)
• Bucktown Donor (our first location): annual cost to provide lunch to our senior participants
• Myrtle Street Donor (our current location): annual cost of caring for one K-5th child on our Plus Days (in-service, break & inclement weather days) during the school year
• Fran Ivory Donor (our well-loved Director in the 1980’s and 1990’s): annual cost to cover emergency service vouchers given to families (clothing, prescriptions, laundry, gas)
• Jane Addams Donor (founder of the settlement house movement in America): annual cost of caring for one full day preschool child
*All gifts to the annual appeal will be used where the need is greatest.
Thanks again for your support.