Quintessa Atchley’s Post

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Mom of 8| CEO | Developer| AWS Cloud Practitioner| Project Manager| Jane of all Trades | A Generalist With a Plan…Meticulous by Nature Keep it a buck 💯one penny at a time!

Someone with children who could use free clothing, has entered the chat: While it's commendable that 18,000 children received a season of clothing, it's equally disheartening that so many are in need—and surely, another 18,000 children could use similar assistance. I've said it before: parents need livable wages, hours that allow them to care for and build relationships with their children, and safe neighborhoods. In the words of Al Bundy, “You can’t have one without the other!” The crime in our community is directly linked to poverty, which stems from a lack of advancement and opportunity for marginalized individuals. This cycle repeats as parents are overworked, underpaid, and stressed in a constant struggle for survival. We need career opportunities as holiday charity. Instead of toy trucks, we need career opportunities for Giving Tuesdays, rather than endless roundtable discussions about recurring problems. A career is the gift that keeps on giving. A promotion that recognizes those of us who have invested time in acquiring new skills and have spent years developing transferable skills can make a world of difference. For many families, ending poverty is just one job offer away.

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Executive Director, Charity Newsies; RYT 500 Yoga Teacher; Comprehensively Trained Pilates Instructor; CF-L1; ACE GFI

While we will still be taking emergency applications for unhoused families, the Red Cross, CHOICES, etc. the Charity Newsies general assistance application is now closed.   Three years and prior, we were able to keep the clothing assistance application open into December to serve up to 15,000 children.   Two years ago, we reached our budgetary goal of 15,000 children right before Thanksgiving.   Last year, we reached 15,000 on August 15 before Columbus City Schools even opened. We scrambled and raised money and bought clothes to reach 18,000, which we did on September 18.   This year, we opened on July 29 planning to serve 18,000 children. As of 9:38 a.m. morning, August 15, 18 days since opening the application, we have hit our budgeted amount of 18,000 children scheduled to receive clothing or who have already picked up clothing.

Subha Lembach

Executive Director, Charity Newsies; RYT 500 Yoga Teacher; Comprehensively Trained Pilates Instructor; CF-L1; ACE GFI

1mo

It’s actually closer to 80,000 MORE children in need in Franklin County. And, if I could offer one friendly amendment to your last sentence, it would be to add “For many families, ending poverty is just one living wage, equitable pay job offer away.”

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