As we get ready to launch our Annual Matching campaign each fall, we typically reflect on the year’s accomplishments and look ahead to what we can achieve next year with your support. But 2020 has been no typical year. To say that it has been unlike any other in our lifetimes would be a monstrous understatement, having generated a treasure trove of “would be funny if it weren’t so sad” memes and inspired the excessive usage of words like “dumpster fire.” As the year draws to a close, most of us are desperately looking forward to “turning the page,” ignoring the reality that we know nothing of what’s written on the next page.
None of us get to choose the years that will be a part of the calendar of our lives: we just get to live through them. As challenging a year as it has been, through it all, we at Boca Helping Hands have been able to maintain and, in some cases, expand our services to the underserved in our community. Via our four drive-thru distribution facilities, we have fed more people this year than ever before, with more than 4,000 additional families being helped than last year. And while there was a temporary interruption in our other services during the height of the crisis, we were able to resume providing job training, childcare assistance, emergency financial support and affordable access to medical and dental care to our clients in need of those services. In addition, we are confident that the lessons we’ve learned have equipped us to continue providing our full range of services for as long as this “new normal” prevails.
COVID-19 has not been the only challenge we have faced this year, as we have also had to prepare for changes to our leadership team at the Board of Directors level. Our Board Vice President, Dr. Eric Shaw, will be leaving in November after serving faithfully for 18 years. Eric has served during a period of major transition for the organization, from our start as a small soup kitchen to our current role as a key community resource throughout Palm Beach County. We recently added a new member to our Board, Ms. Martine Pierre-Paul, who we are excited to welcome to the BHH family.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson we have learned in 2020 is about how strongly and dependably our community and extended BHH family support the work we do, fulfilling the saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” When we needed you most, you were there for us and for all those who need our help. So, as we kick off another Annual Matching campaign, despite all the future uncertainties associated with the lingering effects of the pandemic, we have a sense of confidence, borne out of the demonstrated faithfulness of our partners, that we will be able to continue our work.
You too can become a “friend in need” by contributing financially between November 1 and December 31 and making sure your contribution is marked “End of the Year Matching.” We always encourage you to ask your friends to participate as well…because we need all the help we can get. A year like this reminds us that the future is uncertain, but that as long as we have your support, we can continue to meet the challenges that come our way.
