End of Year Update – Please Support the Fund for Ability!
I have always believed that difficult times bring out the best of people. And, we are certainly living in some very challenging times!
As we approach the end of the fiscal year, we have been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from our larger Triangle family. Since launching the Fund for Ability in April, we have received more than $30,000 in donations, including a generous rapid response grant from the Essex County Community Foundation, proceeds from an online charity training class by Everybody Fights Hilltop, and many generous gifts from Triangle board members, families, staff members, and community members. The generosity of the companies and individuals who converted their event support originally intended for our annual Celebration further bolstered our efforts by providing $70,000 in additional support. While we are extremely grateful for this support, it will cover only a portion of the financial loses we’ve experienced thus far.
I know there are a lot of great causes and organizations that need support right now, but if you haven’t already, please consider giving a gift to Triangle before June 30th – the close of our 2020 fiscal year. Your contributions are more important than ever as we face a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the upcoming year.
Triangle is a unique agency in that it has five major programs, providing different services to people with disabilities. Like many other human services agencies, some of these programs primarily rely upon state contracts, especially at our four Community-Based Day Services and Supportive Employment program locations in Malden (2), Randolph, and Salem. Because these programs cannot safely resume at full capacity for the foreseeable future, our agency is expecting at least a 10% reduction in revenue in the upcoming year.
Our other programs also need your support as they continue to meet the comprehensive needs of the disability community. Our residential program will continue to provide each one of our residents with individualized programing while remaining diligent through the future phases of reopening. Our Workforce Development team continues to place our clients into jobs and will soon be operating two brand new testing centers in Malden and Salem. Our IMPACT and EPIC programs have continued to provide online programming, helping both young people and adults to stay safe and connected to their communities while sheltering at home.
If you can, we ask that you support these efforts as we navigate the most difficult time in our organization’s nearly 50 year history. If you haven’t, I encourage you to read and revisit blog posts from recent months – these stories are just some of the ways we have continued to support individuals with disabilities throughout the pandemic. Your donation will help us continue to tell these success stories into the future.
Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this crisis. I hope all of you are safe and healthy, and together, we will get through these tough days and emerge stronger and with more resolve on the other side.