Each day at the Presbyterian Community Center, I am privileged to witness the compassionate and caring difference each of you help us to make in so many lives. Whether it is helping a family avoid the threat of eviction or supplying someone with food when their funds have run short or seeing the sense of accomplishment in a child’s eyes when reading their first chapter book, an underlying sense of joy in loving your neighbor can always be found at our mission on Jamison Avenue in southeast Roanoke.
During the last fiscal year, PCC Emergency Services provided financial aid to 259 households, helping over 600 persons remain safely in their homes. The pantry gave out 1,265 grocery orders, keeping hunger at bay for 2,651 people. The PCC food pantry saw a dramatic 60% increase in demand, often causing shortages in our stock of food. We have been blessed by the response to this need by many churches and individuals holding additional Hunger Buster collections of food or sending funds to replenish our shelves.
Joy can be heard loud and clear each day at 2:30 when our students enter the building. Pathways for Youth resumed regular post-pandemic operations in August, even adding first and second graders. After two long years, we look forward to welcoming our volunteer tutors back to work with the children. All four 2022 seniors graduated in June, keeping our 100% graduation rate intact since 2009.
As most of you know, the PCC is looking to the future by embarking on the largest project in our 55-year history – a new facility to meet the growing impact of our mission on the families, children, and neighborhood that we serve. After a delay due to the pandemic, we embarked on a capital campaign last year and final architectural plans for our new building will be completed soon. Last May, a wonderfully generous donor challenged our board of directors to raise funds for the new building and offered a 3:1 match for all money raised in six weeks. Setting an ambitious goal of $250,000, the board raised over $500,000 in cash and pledges. Two hundred donors contributed to this capital challenge, and I am grateful for and humbled by your generosity and faith in the PCC mission. We hope to complete fundraising and meet our $6 million goal in 2023.
My most sincere thanks to each of you for making our work possible and allowing the PCC to share the joy.
-Karen McNally, Executive Director