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Submitted by Benjamin T Turner on
We hope you were able to enjoy a safe, peaceful, joyful holiday season, no matter how you celebrated with loved ones this year. Our staff gathered for virtual holiday games and fellowship this December, but here are some of our smiling faces from past years!
Hindsight is 2020
A Message from the Executive Director
I think it is safe to say that 2020 will long be remembered as a year we would all prefer to forget. The challenges were massive. The sorrow and loss of life is heartbreaking. The crushing financial blows were crippling. The fear and mental anguish were suffocating. Much like the impacts of 9/11, Americans will be paying the price for 2020 for decades to come.
As I reflect on 2020, I am incredibly proud of how you have worked with us to change lives and livelihoods this year. Your investments of donations, volunteer hours, funding, and support made all of this possible.
Together, we have
- Saved nearly 400 Tennessee families from eviction when they were directly impacted by COVID-19,
- Improved the housing conditions of over 1,100 families,
- Protected more than 10,000 acres and 46 miles of streams with conservation practices to improve the environment,
- Created and supported local economies with more than 200 jobs and $4.5 million in expenditures, and
- Helped 530 seniors stay connected with family and doctors through technology.
2020 taught me some new lessons and reinforced some I have long held dear.
Be nimble. Being nimble made it possible to bring in $1.4 million to directly help families devastated by the pandemic this year, and to provide services securely and remotely for the safety of employees and clients. When opportunity knocks, answer.
Think differently. Related to being nimble, but different. 2020 was full of things we couldn't do anymore - like meet face to face with clients or inspect homes for repairs, for example. But we just kept knocking down or going around obstacles by getting creative, like focusing on exterior repairs only, or developing new skills, including video training.
Trust your team. We are blessed with the best, and I don't have to see them every day to know they are giving 110% for the people we serve.
Invest in the future. 2020 has been an all-consuming, fire-fighting marathon, but it is still critical to stay focused on our vision. Even in this very difficult year we have made significant investments in staffing and programming expansion that will pay dividends long term.
No money, no mission. Our dedication to operating as a good not-for-profit business has really served us well this year. While it was a difficult year, there was never a danger that we would not continue to do the business of building strong communities, caring for people, and protecting natural resources.
There were many other lessons, but these are ones that are top of mind in the last hours of 2020. Let us remember that there are still so many who are suffering and you can be sure that we at Clinch-Powell take care to help people long-term through our financial coaching and counseling program so they can be prepared for a future hardship.
"Please forgive me if I'm saying something that don't make sense, but I read the note that you wrote me in regard to my past due rent assistance. I cried thanking God for you and asking Him to forever shower your staff with that eternal blessing and open every possible avenue so that you continue to bless others that are threatened by this kind of situation and others. I just wanted to take this time to thank you for hearing others and I cries, delivering us from life's unwanted and sometimes unbearable situations. Once again, thank you all, God bless." (client message)
Thank you for your connection to Clinch-Powell; we really do appreciate you. Please consider joining our efforts with a donation today. You can donate securely Here. You can get a tax deduction without itemizing in 2020 for up to a $300 donation.
