Annual Report 2018
The year 2018 was a very good year as we saw many lives changed for the better.
We continue to expand our Real Life Skills program to reach new and diverse populations. For overall statistics our program was taught to 559 individuals vs 507 in 2017 and 479 in 2016.
The population groups were:
Homeless in transition in shelters
Parolees in transition to society
Inmates incarcerated seeking early release
Low income families receiving supporting housing (section 8)
Apartment Managers of Affordable Housing
Adult Education Evening Classes -Open to the public at our Corporate Office
Our program was taught at 11 teaching locations. The locations include The SD Rescue Mission, Path, East Mesa Re-entry, Las Colinas Detention Center, WestCare, CoreCivic, GRF Girls Rehab Facility, Atmosphere Apartments, HealthRight 360 Stop Program, SD Housing Commission Achievement Academy and Adult Education classes at the corporate office.
For the first time our Revenues from Teaching Services exceeded outside contributions and we ended the year in good financial position as reported in our 990 annual report.
Some of the highlights for this year were:
1.We gratefully received a donation of $5,000 from the San Diego Downtown Rotary to help us develop and expand our teaching staff and increase our outreach to the downtown homeless community. We appreciate their support.
2.Homeless shelters continue to grow to meet the needs of homeless sleeping on the streets. We now teaching our program for both men and women groups living at the SD Rescue Mission. We continue to reach more homeless in the city with our program. There are many individuals in shelters that have feelings of despair and hopelessness and need help. We will continue to use every effort to engage with these individuals to encourage them to change their life styles and to seek a better life. We have the tools to help them.
3.Our teaching program for parolees who were serving life sentences has become a very important program for us. The program is funded by the State of California Department of Corrections and administered by the HeathRight 360 agency (stop program). Our program is mandatory and taught every Monday evening at our corporate office. The attendance ranges from 10 to 25 every week. This year we taught 74 parolees. The parolees live in sponsored safe houses for 3 months while seeking employment. Our program has provided parolees personal respect, hope, and renewed self-esteem. They are now better prepared with confidence and perseverance to seek good jobs and become contributing citizens to the community.
4. We continue to teach in four prison facilities for incarcerated inmates (men and women) seeking early release. This become an important regular teaching activity for three teachers on our staff. We receive ongoing requests from the Sheriff’s Department to continue and expand our Real Life Skills program services. Each request is carefully evaluated. In October we received a letter of support and appreciation from Christine Taylor, manager of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Re-entry Services Division.
5. The Real Life Skills program was selected to teach at the SD Housing Commission Achievement Academy. The program was taught in November for a group of downtown residents presently receiving housing support. Future sessions are planned.
6. We were also invited to present our program to neighborhood residents at the opening of the Envision Center in February 2019. This center is a collaboration between HUD, the SD Housing Commission, and the San Diego Workforce Partnership. The Envision Center is located at the San Diego Metro Career Center on Imperial Avenue.
7. We were pleased to receive full accreditation from the Better Business Bureau for meeting all the required 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.
8. A year end party was held for all board members ,staff, and spouses and sponsored by one of our Board members, Robinson Davadson. It was held at Ashoka The Great Restaurant. It was a joyous event as facilitators shared teaching experiences and others shared how the class lessons had been a positive influence in their own lives.
9. The Board of Directors approved a 2019 budget of $80,000.
We are grateful to God for the opportunities we are able to serve and help to such a diverse population.
I want to give a special thanks to our dedicated teachers, board members and staff who have given so much of their time helping to serve others. We are inspired and blessed to see how lives are changing for the better.
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Blessings,
Richard Karlson
Financial Highlights-2018
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Total Income $61,535
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Functional Breakdown of Expenses:
Program expenses $39,499 79.6%
Fundraising 840 1.7%
Administrative 9,300 18.7%
Total $49,639
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Net Change for the year $11,896
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Net Assets -Beg of year $27,403
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Net Assets -End of Year $39,299
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