The MASSB Minute

Greetings everyone. We are embarking on a new year that will offer both challenges and opportunities. As we enter 2024, all of us at MASSB extend a heartfelt welcome back to each of you. January not only marks the beginning of a new chapter but also serves as National Poverty Awareness Month — a time to reflect on the challenges faced by those affected by poverty and to rally our collective efforts toward meaningful change. Within that context, volunteering remains an important compassion advancing our mission and addressing poverty. Volunteering stands as a cornerstone in our pursuit of alleviating hardships faced by the vulnerable populations we are supporting. We are advocates for systemic change, driving efforts to create sustainable solutions and foster inclusive communities.

Throughout this year, we are excited to provide numerous opportunities for collective engagement and continuous growth. As we craft and roll out our new MASSB website, we seek and value your feedback, particularly regarding the information you wish to contribute about your local boards. Your input will play a pivotal role in shaping both the website and the broader community it serves. Your active involvement is also crucial for the success of our annual MASSB conference later this year. Like in previous years, this event promises to be a great opportunity for us to come together, share experiences, and further our missions.

Let us forge ahead together into 2024, empowered to make positive differences in the lives of vulnerable populations and within our communities.

Best,
Tony

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Director: Shelly Neal-Edwards
Board Co-Chairs: Beverly Birkmire & Caitlan Gartland
Stay tuned for details in the coming months!

In our country, the poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5 percent, with 37.9 million people in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau). Many people have preconceived notions of the poor as being lazy, mentally ill, or drug-addicted. At MASSB, we understand there are millions of working poor who fall at or below the poverty line and are one crisis away from being without a home and basic necessities. So this month, please take time to help others gain a better understanding of the plight of those who are confronted with poverty each day.

Thank you to DSS and our Advisory Boards working every day to Bridge Gaps and Lift Lives.

The January board meeting is a great time to set the stage for the year's activities. Use the January Board Checklist as a planning and communication tool for your board. Need help getting started? E-mail trustee@massbfoundation.org with your questions or to request a working session with one of our experienced members.

Download January Board Checklist

MASSB Secretary and Advisory Board Member, Anne Arundel County; President, Food 4 Thought Community Outreach Services, Inc.

During National Poverty Awareness month, it is only fitting that we highlight the extraordinary work of Dr. Shawn Ashworth and her nonprofit, Food 4 Thought Community Outreach Services, Inc. (F4TCOS). Shawn was inspired to create the nonprofit after a fellow volunteer asked for her help serving 125 unhoused working and jobless men and women living at BWI airport. Shawn went on to deliver food to these individuals every Thursday night at 11pm for 3 years!

The mission of F4TCOS is to provide veterans, the homeless and struggling families with nutritional meals, housing referrals, counseling and job skill development. Currently, the nonprofit is primarily focused on providing food and supplies to families in the Anne Arundel County community of Brooklyn, which is considered a food desert.

Every other month on a Saturday, Shawn and her team of volunteers serve more than 200 families from the Brooklyn Park Elementary School parking lot, with even the school principal pitching in to help. Events include Spring into Hope, Summer of Hope, Back to School Bookbag & Cookout, Holiday Harvest, Thanksgiving Lunch, and Hope 4 the Holidays. Shawn is especially grateful for the more than 50 volunteers that help at each event. In fact, on Thanksgiving Day, 83 dedicated volunteers served lunch to 223 families.

With an impressive network of partners that includes Anne Arundel's food bank, Walmart and Costco, F4TCOS is also able to respond to requests for assistance that are received weekly, and close gaps between resource providers and those in need. For instance, Heart Kitchen-Baltimore knows to call Shawn when it has hot meals to deliver to the unhoused men and women at BWI airport. She will make it happen.

Shawn is intent on breaking down barriers faced by the people she serves. In the coming year, she plans to retire from her full-time position as a Program Specialist with Anne Arundel County Public Schools' Office of Safe and Orderly Schools to focus on growing F4TCOS. Her vision is a building located on a bus line where families can receive needed support and services all in one location — a "one stop" location that will offer expanded late hours to accommodate individuals who cannot afford to take off from work, thus breaking down another barrier.

Shawn's exceptional work has been recognized by a multitude of organizations including AARP, the County Executive's Office, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the NAACP. While she appreciates these awards, she is quick to say that her only motivation is to help whoever needs it. In fact, Shawn is the county's Toys for Tots volunteer coordinator, and she literally stepped away from helping to prepare toys for distribution to answer questions for this article.

We are grateful for Dr. Shawn Ashworth's tireless work serving the people of Maryland and her willingness to share her experience with MASSB. We wish her good luck as she turns her vision into reality. Says Shawn, "We are here to give people HOPE."

Visit Food 4 Thought

Keeping track of your finances and who you have helped is critical for describing the impact of your board's work to potential donors and board members. It's also a requirement for the MASSB Foundation's tax return. Be on the lookout for the metrics collection sheet that will be e-mailed to your Chair and Finance Officer in December. Review the Finance and Metrics presentation from the conference to learn how to use the Logic Model to tell your story.

View Finance & Metrics Presentation