 Our Rotary club has had a long standing relationship with Keystone Opportunity, located in Souderton. Their mission is: The mission of Keystone Opportunity Center is to help community members in need by offering a comprehensive array of social services that educate, encourage and empower them to become self-sufficient.Our guest, Executive Director Malcolm Friend, explained that they've seen a spike in the number of families asking for help during the Covid pandemic. Unemployment in our area is currently at about 10%. More people are becoming homeless as they lose jobs. Keystone Opportunity can temporarily house people in hotels but this is a stop gap measure. Currently they are housing about 6 families/month with private landlords. The center also has a food pantry which served 285 families in July alone! The food pantry has a "fresh for all" program to distribute fresh produce. Their biggest challenge today is their education program, which had to lay off teachers. The government funding they receive has been "redistributed" resulting in the center having to make cuts. Every Friday the center posts "Immediate Needs to the Community" to their Facebook page. Please share their posts to your Facebook page to get the word out to our community. |