Neighbor 2 Neighbor (N2N) was recently chosen to receive one of the first large grants from the new Episcopal Seniors Foundation. This three-year grant will provide $67,500 to help N2N expand its services and community connections and become a weekly part of the life of St. James’.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor, which currently meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, creates a safe and welcoming space for community members to be together and to access services like food and utilities assistance. In 2018, N2N received over 1100 household visits. The average age of neighbors served was 60, and the average monthly income was $750. In the changing environment of east Austin, N2N offers a place for the elderly who may feel isolated to find community.
The ESF grant will fund some operating costs, but the bulk of the grant will support a part-time community liaison position. This community liaison will be charged with developing N2N’s community partnerships and volunteer base, both of which will need to grow in order to expand operations.
We are grateful to this new diocesan foundation for offering Neighbor 2 Neighbor this opportunity to learn and grow. In his letter to N2N, The Rt. Rev. Jeff Fisher, Chair of the Episcopal Seniors Foundation, congratulated Welcome Table and St. James’ for developing a strong program benefiting seniors; this new partnership brings tangible assistance and important attention and energy to our vulnerable neighbors in the east Austin community.
I am grateful to the leadership of Welcome Table, especially Welcome Table President Eric Kennedy and grant-writer Lizzie Cain Clark, but also to the diligent volunteers who make Neighbor 2 Neighbor possible, for their clarity of vision and hard work. Together, we can restore dignity to the vulnerable and create new community amidst the tumult and strains of community change. This grant helps us to expand our reach and deepen our impact.
Rev. Eileen
