VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Jay Height:
Hi, I’m Jay Height here at Shepherd community. And it is December. It’s a busy time, lots of great things happening. And we wanted to talk about how we continue to support the families we serve. Well through the holidays, we’ll have several different programs helping them, we’re continuing to provide meals and food every week to several hundred families. And this year, we’ve helped them pay their bills and rent and utilities. And here’s what we know. At the end of the year, a lot of programs that have helped our families are going to end, and we expect a lot of challenges, but we’re not just helping pay bills. We are helping them retool, up-skill and find the tools necessary to move forward on the road to recovery. Employment is an important part is we work with different employers in the community, as well as training programs and helping them access.

Jay Height:
There’s one lady that we’re helping so that she can get a computer and be trained in coding and help get the job that she needs. She’s had a rough life and she’s made tough choices to end the negative part of her life, but to move forward. And it’s our job to help her continue in moving forward. Many of our students are getting the support and in high school that they need in the connections. I’m excited to say that some of the staff at Minnie Hartmann are folks who’ve come through the programs of shepherd community. And we are partnering with Ivy tech to get them the skills and the certification they need to be able to continue to move forward on the road to recovery. And we are excited to see their progress, to see them serving those who we’ve served now, serving alongside us. Those are exciting days and exciting visions to know that they can be able to move forward with the proper skills.

Jay Height:
High unemployment in the neighborhood and we are committed to helping them be ready for the changing future. We read this last week, that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 don’t even exist yet. So it’s helping our folks get the skills necessary to be continuous learners. We’re also getting ready and you’ve seen the caring at Christmas. We want you to help us, help families provide for Christmas. And our Christmas store is a perfect way to do that. Each of the families pay $5 for each student and that money we’re donating on the Navajo reservation, helping children have Christmas there as well. We want to be givers and help our families feel a part of the solution. Thank you. And we hope you have a Merry Christmas and stay tuned to next Wednesday night as we do our Facebook live. And we’re going to hear from some of our neighbors that have benefited through your support through shepherd community and let them tell you what it’s meant to them. Have a great week. Merry Christmas.