We need your support now as JUMP seeks to raise $35,000 for direct services before the end of June!

For thirty-five years, JUMP has been listening and responding to the real needs of people with thoughtful, practical assistance, informed referrals, and warm hospitality.  Thousands of adults and children have been assisted in meaningful ways, including Maggie, Linda, Ahmed and Suzanne: 

• “I’m thrifty, I often wash my clothes in the bathtub, I needed help with my heat bill in the winter and JUMP was there for me.”   - Linda, 48 
• “After I pay my rent, there is little left.  The help I get from JUMP helps me provide

        for my kids.”  - Ahmed, 32

• “Food prices are way up, our rent is high, it is very hard for my family.” - Suzanne, 45
• “My husband is doing well, his cancer is in remission. JUMP’s help means a lot to us as our budget is very tight as we wait for subsidized housing – it’s a 3 to 6 year wait!” - Maggie, 79                                       

COMMUNITY NEEDS: With the poverty rate exceeding 20% in some Chittenden County towns, many need the assistance that JUMP provides.  Budgets are stretched thin in this time as all are experiencing higher food costs and for many, the cost of housing has continued to rise.  In just the first ten weeks of this year, JUMP assisted 522 households, representing 1121 individuals (360, under 17; 640 aged 18 to 64; and 121 were 65+); 63 were without housing.  The 522 households received: $10,355 in thrift shop/goodwill vouchers - $14,240 in food vouchers - $1,524 in laundromat vouchers, and $5,750 in payments to utility providers.

CHANGES at JUMP: In March we said a fond farewell to two devoted JUMP staff members, Director Wanda Hines and Direct Service Staff, Mary Stannard Carter.  We are thankful that for ten years, Wanda did much to strengthen JUMP’s vital mission. Wanda, who has moved out-of-state to devote time to her extended family, will be missed at JUMP and in Vermont.   Mary, beloved by many at JUMP, resigned due to health challenges and has been assisting JUMP during this transition time. 

WELCOME GARY! We are pleased to announce that Pastor Gary O’Gorman, who has served on the JUMP staff with excellence in the past, has been hired to cover staff responsibilities at JUMP on an interim basis. Our board and volunteers are working with Gary and are pleased that JUMP is serving the community in person and on-line.

YOUR DONATION WILL HELP VERMONT FAMILIES – OUR GOAL IS $35,000: JUMP needs your support – your donation – to respond effectively to the many whose lives are impacted by the realities of poverty.  JUMP represents a real way for you to assist our most vulnerable neighbors thoughtfully and effectively. JUMP client Hanna shares her appreciation of JUMP with these words: “Thank you for giving me hope. Thank you for showing me that good people always exist.”

WHY GIVE TO JUMP NOW? We need your support to continue this meaningful work. During the summer of 2023 we are taking major steps, transitioning from providing services largely online in 2022 (75%), to mainly in person direct services. Last week alone we assisted 31 households in person at the JUMP Drop In Center.

With hope and gratitude,

Anne

Anne Tewksbury-Frye

JUMP Board President