Indianapolis Council SVdP Board Meeting –May 31, 2016
Attendees: John Ryan, Scott Alber, Charlie Mazza, Angel Ingram, Deacon Tom Horn, Jeff Blackwell, Pat Jerrell, Lucky Sample, Jim Donges, Elaine Jerrell, Bob White & Karl Knable
Bob Mayhugh distributed Distribution Center stickers to District Presidents.
Opening Prayer at 6:30 PM. Karl Knable
Spiritual Reading and Reflection. Deacon Tom Horn
The reading was the Gospel of John for Sunday, June 5. The reading focused on Jesus’ visit to Naim where he comforted a woman mourning the death of her only son. Deacon Tom noted the willingness of Jesus to reach out to the woman without a request from the Apostles to do so. Jesus saw the need and responded. Deacon Tom reminded us to take time to silently “visit” with God in prayer and in doing so to realize all the many gifts God has given us.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Jeff Blackwell moved that the minutes be approved as submitted. Angel Ingram seconded the motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as submitted.
Treasurer’s Report and FY 2015-16 Budget Status Jim Donges
In reviewing the current balance sheet, Jim noted that there was little change in total revenue from last year. However, available revenue will decrease due to the funds allocated for the construction of the new re-sale store. The amount of money in the committed funds account has been revised to reflect the latest re-sale shop projected expenses .
With regards to income, the Distribution Center is doing well and the Pantry is holding its own. Online donations are doing very well. The Council is currently $90,000 to the good for the current budget. But there have not been any estate donations in the current fiscal year to date, in sharp contrast to the previous 5-6 years.
There have been hardly any issues on the expense side of council finances. Expenses have been reduced somewhat due to the termination of the contract with College Hunks for furniture donations pick ups. However, food purchases and repairs for the Pantry and DC have gone over budget. Overall, the current budget is $63,000 to the good, which is $17, 000 better than expected.
Development Report, Grants Activity and Website Upgrade Project John Ryan, Jeff Blackwell
The updated Council website (www.svdpindy.org) is scheduled to go On-line on June 1. John expressed thanks to Ivy Logsdon, Art Berkemeier and Jeff Blackwell for the site’s improvements. He applauded the site’s fresh approach and user friendliness. District Presidents were also asked to make their members aware of the new look.
John also reported on recent grant activity. The National SVdP has awarded $5,000 to the council for its Changing Lives Forever (CLF) program. Additional monetary requests for the CLF program have also been submitted to Old National Bank, Old National Foundation, the English Foundation and the Nina Pulliam Trust. A similar request to the Impact 100 Fund was denied. The hope is that funds from these donors will pay for the Changing Lives program until the Re-Sale Shop is up and running.
The Nina Pulliam Trust request targeted specific money to pay for a CLF Coordinator. Another proposal will be requesting Lilly Endowment to supply funds for capital improvements at both the Pantry and the DC. The Hoover Fund has also been contacted about grant availability. Many Foundations are very attracted to the work being done with the CLF program, but not the Re-Sale Shop startup.
The Development Committee has been meeting monthly with Hedges & Associates on marketing issues. The group will be working on data mining, an effort focused on learning more about our donors. John will be contacting SVdP Indy’s top 69 donors to thank them for their support and learn the areas of the Council’s work that most interests them.
The Frontline Newsletter will be introducing a completely new look with its June edition. Its front page will feature Abraham Kollison, a part-time employee at the DC and a graduate of the CLF program. Instead of sending out an annual report of donors, a donor list will be included quarterly in the Frontline. A listing of bequests will also be included – this has previously not been done. In addition, more persons will be receiving the Frontline. Previously, only donors and those volunteers who provided their contact information to the Business Office received the newsletter. The goal is for all volunteers and parish donors to receive the Frontline as well. John asked the Board to discuss how we might get the Frontline out to parish donors. The following ideas were offered: parish bulletin insertion—either full issue or a one-page summary; have them available at Parish Welcome Centers; include information in The Criterion.
District Council Reports
Southern Indiana District Report Scott Alber
Our next district meeting will be at St. Agnes in Nashville on Wednesday, June 1st at 5PM.
District Update:
· The Bloomington Conference rented an additional 1400 sq. ft. of space that connects to the 6000 sq space they currently lease for their furniture and appliance distribution. The new space is being used for a much needed client waiting room as well as additional storage for the spring and summer donation surge. Bloomington has also successfully initiated a bed bug assistance program in collaboration with the Monroe County Board of Health and Prof. Marc Lame from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
· Bloomington and Columbus both held 6 weekly sessions of the Bishop’s “Poverty at the Crossroads” program. Bloomington’s program ran from April 18th through May 16th and had an average attendance of 30 to 50 persons.
· Brown County’s Spiritual Advisor Sr. Eileen retired from their parish and they are seeking a new Spiritual Advisor.
· North Vernon held a series of special training sessions for their members on how to help clients get their GED,s and search for jobs.
North District Report Bob White
1. On Sunday, May 23rd, at the end of 10:30 Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas, there was a celebration in honor of Mark Varnau, the retiring coordinator of the Boulevard Place Food Pantry. The pantry is a collaborative product of SVdP Conferences from Christ the King, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Joan of Arc, St. Luke, and St. Thomas, along with other organizations in the community. The speakers included Andy Pike, of the pantry, and John Ryan and Pat Jerrell, of the Indianapolis Council. A reception followed. Mark Varnau’s successor is Cindy Brown, of St. Thomas Aquinas. It is important to note that although he is “retired,” Mark Varnau will remain very involved with the pantry (as noted below).
2. From the Boulevard Place Pantry:
a. The system administrator has prepared a first revision to the client database. It will be up and running by June 1st. The revision will capture the number of veterans in the household and will break the client age bracket 18 - 64 into brackets of 18 - 54 and 55 - 64. The revisions were made as requested by Gleaners.
b. Boulevard Place is in the process of purchasing an 8-foot park type bench to be installed outside the front door along the side of the building. Currently, there is no form of seating for clients who stand and wait for the pantry to open. A much needed improvement.
c. Mark Varnau has taken charge of the vegetable garden plots located in the back (west side) of our building. Plots that are not used by Boulevard Place are given to neighboring business and homeowners. Unfortunately, the garden has already experienced theft of plants, but Mark is not to be deterred.
d. Beginning in Oct 2015 (when first went on-line) and as of mid-May 2016, Boulevard Place has registered 1,200 client families within its service area boundaries.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas is investigating sponsoring or providing support for an immigrant family, and plans on inviting someone from Catholic Social Services to address the conference and/or the parish as a whole. This is in process.
South District Report Charlie Mazza
1. St. Barnabas CLF is down to two investigators. This is not an ideal class size but they are doing their best to make it work.
2. St. Jude is planning to start a new program in September. They currently have their facilitators. They will need our support for sending investigators, meals and mentors. They are planning to pair with Central Catholic and hold the meetings at the Benedictine Inn. They are thinking the BI will be more accessible than St. Jude church.
3. Nativity Conference is giving $1000 to Money for Mattresses.
4. St. Roch conference will have the Annual Commitment Ceremony at the 10:30 Mass, June 5.
5. “Guest” activity appears slower than reported previously.
5. Next district meeting is June 2, at 6:30 in the St. Roch Parish Life Center.
West District Report Angel Ingram
1. Opening Prayer/ Spiritual Reading
2. Council activity update & donors
3. Front Line-update & how to get to conference donors
4. Web update- new look svdpindy.org
5. Aggregation- Who is still left?
6. One day Changing Lives program to be offered for those one learn more about starting program
7. New west district conference in Greencastle
8. Thrift Store update=Mission 27
9. Voucher system update-Client referral form discussion
10. Volunteers needed for Annual mtg- Hosted by West district
11. Next West District Presidents Meeting: August at 9:00 AM : Host
12. Important Dates: .
· Home visitor info session Wed. July 27, 2016 at 7:00 pm
· Ozanam training dates: Nov 12, 2016 Mooresville at St. Thomas Moore
13. Closing Prayer.
East District Report
No report
Systemic Change Report Domoni Rouse
The last meeting of the Systemic Change Committee was held on April 19, 2016. The next meeting will be 6:30 Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in the pantry conference room.
MicroLoan Project: There was one delinquency reported last week. The person promised to make the payment on last Friday.
Changing Lives Forever Program: We expect to graduate 25+ Investigators before the summer ends. We’ve lost some because of new jobs, hospitalizations, etc. Other than a ripple or two, the classes are going well.
The Investigators are bonding, participating, excited, looking forward to speakers, training, mentors, and just changing their lives for the better. All of the CLF sessions have scheduled speakers that include our partners United Way Center for Working Families and Trusted Mentors.
We are looking forward to a Trusted Mentors training session specifically for our prospective mentors. Please consider mentoring. The training will help you discern whether it’s for you or not.
A very positive meeting was held for some of the Conferences that are considering hosting CLF sessions. Some of the interested Conferences include: St. Jude, Sacred Heart, St. Pius X, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Nativity. We do expect newly hosted sessions this Fall.
In order to accommodate prospective Facilitators, we are looking to hold a one-day Retreat for them that would include the poverty simulation and the Bridges videos. They would then have to complete the two-part webinar facilitated by National. The next sets of webinars are on Monday, June 6 and Monday, June 13.
Systemic Change Retreat: We are planning for an October Retreat at the Benedict Inn.
Food Pantry Operations Report Jim Vento
Jim asked for prayers for Don Striegel, Clarence Hirsch and Morris Goss who are recovering from serious illnesses. He thanked all of the Pantry volunteers who have stepped up to help during their absences. The food supply has been low. The number of clients has also been down.
Distribution Center Operations Report Jeff Blackwell
Client numbers are also down at the Distribution Center – on a recent Saturday only 65 clients were served.
The inventory on mattresses is very low and the purchase of additional mattresses has not been included in the budget. Jeff has asked conferences for donations to buy more mattresses.
As summer begins, the need for more volunteers increases. The number of trucks going out on Saturdays has been reduced to four.
June 4 will be the last day that clients will be served from the current room at the DC. After that date, clients will be served in the dock area. The change is due to the ongoing construction of the resale shop. The existing clothing rooms have been cleaned out. Clothing will not be available on Saturdays during construction. Homeless clients can get clothing on Wednesdays.
Council Positions: Filled and Unfilled John Ryan
Jim Vento and Jeff Blackwell have been filling in for Bill Billerman who has stepped down as Facilities Director. Pat Jerrell has been making some inquiries about a replacement for Bill, without success as yet.
Susan Lord is performing Ed Ryan’s essential duties temporarily, but the search for a replacement for Ed as Development Director is underway .
Maryland St. Re-Sale Shop Update John Ryan
A Store Manager with SVdP Thrift Store experience has been hired, but won’t be announced until late June.
Darlene Sweeney from South Bend has been hired as the Council Volunteer Coordinator. She will begin on July 11 and have the following responsibilities: 1) recruiting re-sale shop volunteers; 2)helping Pat Jerrell in conference renewal efforts. She is a part-time employee who will work three days per week.