President's Message
This New Year Resolve to Help Others in Need
Happy New Year!! Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc. is excited for all the opportunities for our organization during 2012 and the ways that you, our valuable donors and supporters, can be involved during this most exhilarating time in our 116-year history.
As our economy slowly recovers, Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc. continues to be stressed by the funding cuts at the Federal, State and Local levels in our region. Please consider donating not only your time this year, but additional resources so that we can continue our high level of quality care. You can donate cash, stock, mutual funds or even that old vehicle in your driveway or garage.
We continue to add new programs, serving new clients including at-risk youth and veterans, while expanding our services in permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless. Our affiliate is expanding our capacity in order the meet the increasing number of men, women and children we serve in 2012. Last year we served 10,000 men, women and children – 1,000 more than the year before. We are on a path to have that number escalate even higher this year.
In Prince George’s County, MD, we have been selected as the provider to serve transitional age youth who have mental health concerns. Our staff of counselors, residential care coordinators and direct support staff are prepared to assist these at-risk youth to help them become self-reliant and more successful in their communities. At our Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter where we serve 50 men and women in an emergency shelter, we were awarded a contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide permanent supportive housing for 14 homeless men and women who are now more independent. The permanent supportive housing allows our organization to offer the continuum of care in that community to those men, women and children who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless. Finally, we were awarded a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the District of Columbia to serve veterans with mental illness through permanent supportive housing throughout the National Capital Region. This significant contract is the beginning of our efforts to offer housing solutions and supportive services for veterans in our communities.
When God commanded Joshua to cross the Jordan River to deliver the people to the Promised Land, he was not sure of the future. However, Joshua was comforted by God knowing that he would successfully lead them to Israel and the rewards of this would be grand. Volunteers of America Chesapeake, Inc. has the same opportunity in 2012. We will allow God to lead our organization to deliver new services, provide a higher level of quality care, and explore new health and human service programs. Volunteers of America Chesapeake is poised to expand its services and deliver new services to the vulnerable populations in our region.
Please join our journey and plans in 2012 to inspire self reliance, dignity and hope through health and human services. As our donors and supporters, consider a New Year’s resolution that will commit you to volunteer at one of our programs….or just visit one of our programs. We would be pleased to receive a phone call or e-mail from you to arrange a tour of one of our homeless prevention programs; community corrections; residential group homes or our senior center. Believe me – once you see the work that our more than 650 employees and 2,200 volunteers are doing each and every day --- you will be impressed with the caring and loving services being delivered. But, more importantly, you will be touched by the men, women and children whose lives are being changed and need our support to serve them.
Without a partnership with our donors, supports and funders, our successes would not be so easily attainable. But through our collective efforts in 2012 in being Called to Care, we will continue to change peoples’ lives each and every day.
Blessings,
Russell K. Snyder
President/CEO