Part of running a non-profit program is tallying numbers, results, KPIs, etc. No one will fund you if there aren’t results coming from a program. Keeping track of all the “stats” is an important part of accountability to our funders. It’s also an important measure of program effectiveness. After all, if there is no meaningful change or growth from the classes we offer, then we’d better be reevaluating and rewriting our curriculum!
So for those who are counting, here are some of the results we’ve seen from the first semester of Women’s Center classes:
- Five women hired into jobs that fit their skills, schedules and interests.
- 10 computers distributed to provide laptop access for refugee women.
- Three women pursuing higher education through CPCC.
- Food distributions to 20 families either in our program or connected through our community outreach work.
- Six new moms receiving needed baby items, including beds, blankets, clothing and diapers!
- Over $400 earned by students in our microenterprise sewing unit.
- 2 families connected with needed legal help.
- Six women with active mentors who visit on a regular basis to help with English, culture questions and build deeper friendships.
- And a growing waiting list across all of our classes as women look for ways to pursue ELL friendly vocational education.
But let’s step back a moment to look beyond the numbers. Because there are some aspects of the program that just can’t be measured easily.
- Like the volunteer who invited a family to her house for Thanksgiving.
- Like the young mom facing homelessness who was able to keep her housing because staff came to visit her on the day she received an eviction notice.
- Like the volunteer sharing about what nursing education looks like in the United States to several women who didn’t know how to take the next educational steps.
- Like a woman being able to finally read her name on the forms at her workplace.
- Like the volunteer who spent almost an hour helping a student apply for a job at Walmart.
- Like a volunteer giving a student a ride to Crisis Assistance when she had no other way to get to her appointment there.
It’s all summed up in what one student shared recently. “Here is my family. Here are my friends.” Because that is what we provide at Make Welcome. A mutual community that is so strong, we feel like family.