House Manager Report - July 8, 2018



1.     Client Statistics – For the first 6 months of 2018, we served 1336 families (units).  Of this total number, 252 are have shopped twice.  So, we have served 1084 unique families. We have served 1884 adults and 1830 children for a total of 3714.  Of the 1084 unique families served, 356 were first-time clients or 33%.  53% are from Ypsilanti, 38% from Ann Arbor, 9% from other areas.  Our racial and ethnic diversity for the first half of the year is 52% Black, 30% White, 18% Other.

2.     Saturdays – We were open Saturdays May 5th, June 2nd, and July 7th.  We had 3, 3, and 4 clients respectively.

3.     Volunteers – We currently have 30 regular volunteers and 3 who come in when called for special purposes.  We have 2 volunteers off with health issues. 3 volunteers are off for the summer, but 2 have started up who can only work in the summer. We are doing fairly well but can always use more volunteers.

The VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON went extremely well and was very much appreciated by the 16 volunteers who attended.  Most of those who did not attend were out of town or had other local commitments (graduations/funerals, etc).  2 board members attended:  Mary Danforth and Tom Messner.  Paula & Chester Carter, along with Paula’s sister Maddy, provided wonderful food, decorations and a lovely location in their home.  The volunteers sent a Thank You note.

4.     Donation Status –

What we need:
·       Fans
·       Pots and pans
·       Small appliances
·       Sheets, towels, blankets
·       Backpacks
·       Plus size women’s and men’s clothes

5.     Business/Community Contacts –
·       The Deacons of Michigan of the United Methodist Church donated 20 new children’s books to us.
·       The First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor plans to donate some New Testament books to us in July.  I have been asked to speak to one of their groups in the spring of 2019.
·       First United Methodist of Ypsilanti has asked me to speak to their UMW group in early October 2018.

6.     Community Outreach – No activity in this area.

7.     Facility Status –
·       I don’t have any feedback on the awning
·       We need to have the carpet cleaned on both sides of the building
·       We received guidance about signage to direct donors to the back dock.  I passed on the city regulations to Tom Messner.
·       Jim Danforth fixed the freezer door that was sagging (and therefore didn’t close all the way).  It was accidentally left open over the weekend.  Jim fixed it shortly thereafter.

8.     Safety Issues – There has been a suggestion that we install the first aid kit in a more visible place.  No action on this yet.

9.     Areas that need attention –
·       Documenting procedures – I have completed the client check-in procedure.
·       Training volunteers –

10.  Client Stories – a client’s nephew was murdered.  The client needed suits for her sons to attend the funeral.  They were large size teenagers but we had suits and shirts and ties that fit the sons!

11. Overall Appearance and Organization – All continues to go well.

12. Computer plans – No recent update.  I will follow up

13. Issues –
·       Language barriers – Jean Bush-Bacelis is following up on a program that will do live translating.  This is an area where we need an internet connection for the service to work.  I do have the name/phone of a client who has offered to translate Arabic over the phone whenever the need arises.

Submitted by,

Mary Danforth, House Manager