End Of Year Wrap Up by John Wroton

As I wrap up my first full year as Chair of the StepUp Durham Board of Directors, I couldn’t be prouder of the accomplishments of the organization given some of the uncertainties and challenges we have faced over the past few months.  At this time last year, our Board membership had fallen to 6 members primarily due to some unexpected turnover.  We have since doubled the size of our Board to 12 and continue to focus on diversifying the composition and skill sets of our Board members.  We have also recently completed our annual fundraiser and exceeded our $90,000 goal!  This success is a tribute to the hard work and creativity of our staff, volunteers, and board to quickly pivot from an in-person event to an online, virtual fundraiser given the Covid-19 pandemic.

We’ve also continued to see growth and success in our programs.  Our Employment Week training remains the cornerstone of StepUp Durham and we are pleased that over the last 11 months, we’ve been able to assist over 80 individuals in our Durham community to obtain employment at an average salary in excess of $13/hour.  More importantly, we’ve continued to offer assistance to all those seeking it, utilizing video conferencing tools, phone conversations, and, safe-distancing, one-on-one consultations.  Our Step2 program, providing individuals with life skills workshops and training, has continued to grow and we are excited about the potential that we’ve seen in reaching even more people through the use of video conferencing.

Thanks to the continued financial and in-kind support from all of our donors and volunteers, I believe StepUp Durham is well positioned to continue to meet the needs of our Durham community.  As I begin my second year as Board Chair, I am excited to see how we can increase our impact over the next year!