Project Ezrah Needs Inc

TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS IN NEED AND TO RAISE FUNDS VIA CONTRIBUTIONS AND VARIOUS EVENTS.

CLIENT FAMILIES NEEDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: PROJECT EZRAH ADMINISTERS THREE PROGRAMS WITHIN THIS CATEGORY. INTERNALLY THE PROGRAMS ARE CALLED SPARK, BOOST AND PARTNER. ALL THREE PROVIDE VARYING LEVELS OF SUPPORT. HOURS OF PREPARATIONS FOR A CLIENT FAMILY BEGIN EVEN BEFORE THE CLIENT IS ACCEPTED INTO ANY OF THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS STARTING WITH AN INITIAL INTAKE MEETING TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND TRY TO ASSESS WHAT THE RIGHT PROGRAM FOR THE FAMILY WOULD BE. IT THEN MOVES ONTO ANALYSIS OF REQUIRED FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS, REVIEW AND VERIFICATION OF FINANCIAL NEED, EVALUATION OF PROBABLE COMPLIANCE TO THE PROGRAM'S PRINCIPLES AND, FINALLY, ACCEPTANCE INTO ONE OF THE THREE PROGRAMS AND THE CREATION OF A UNIQUE-TO-THAT-FAMILY PATH TOWARD SUCCESS. AN EXTENDED INITIAL MEETING ACQUAINTS THE NEW CLIENT FAMILY WITH THE PROGRAM, SETS THE FAMILY'S GOALS, OUTLINES THEIR INDIVIDUAL COURSE OF ACTION AND REVIEWS IN DETAIL THE FAMILY'S FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PACKAGE. THE FAMILY'S FIRST MONTH IN THE PROGRAM USUALLY REQUIRES EXTENDED INTERACTION HOURS SO THAT BOTH SPOUSES, AND EVEN CHILDREN WHEN APPROPRIATE, ARE FULLY COMFORTABLE WITH AND POSSESS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROGRAM. THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A FAMILY'S PROGRAM, CASE WORKERS, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WORK IN AREAS AS NEEDED. ADDITIONALLY, STAFF MEMBERS ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST CLIENTS WITH BOOKKEEPING, FINANCIAL PLANNING, IN FINDING APPROPRIATE AND MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT, COMPUTER-TRAINING, SCHOOL SUPPLIES BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF EACH YEAR AS WELL AS PLANNING APPROPRIATE SIMCHAS. THE PARTNER PROGRAM (FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE MANAGED SALARY PROGRAM) ASSISTS CLIENT FAMILIES WITH CRITICAL LIVING EXPENSES, MEDICAL BILLS, APPROVED INVOICES AS WELL AS A CASH ALLOWANCE FOR FOOD AND WEEKLY INCIDENTALS. IN 2022, THE MANAGED SALARY PROGRAM ASSISTED 12 FAMILIES; BY YEAR'S END, APPROXIMATELY 25% OF THESE FAMILIES EITHER GRADUATED OUT OF THE PROGRAM OR, WITH MINIMAL ASSISTANCE FROM PROJECT EZRAH, MANAGED ON THEIR OWN. THE BOOST PROGRAM WORKS WITH FAMILIES WHO DO NOT HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF NEED AS OUR PARTNER CLIENTS OR WHO HAVE GRADUATED OUT OF THAT PROGRAM AS A STEP DOWN PROGRAM. OUR SPARK PROGRAM ASSISTS FAMILIES WHO LOOK TO PROJECT EZRAH FOR PRE-APPROVED, SINGULAR NEEDS ASSISTANCE AND/OR PRO-BONO SERVICES. THERE WERE OVER 172 ADDITIONAL FAMILIES WHO RECEIVED CONSISTENT SUPPORT IN 2022 AND APPROXIMATELY 60% WERE ABLE TO GRADUATE OUT OF THE PROGRAM BY YEAR'S END. AN ADDITIONAL 274 FAMILIES RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS AND OTHER FORMS OF ONE TIME ASSISTANCE DURING 2022.

THE EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT CONNECTS CANDIDATES WITH APPROPRIATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. AFTER A SPECIFIC IN-TAKE PROCESS, AN INITIAL MEETING ALLOWS COUNSELORS TO ASSESS A CANDIDATE'S JOB READINESS AND MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR TARGETED AREA IMPROVEMENTS; RESUMES ARE REVIEWED AND REVISED, INTERVIEW SKILLS ARE EVALUATED, JOB-SEARCH STRATEGIES ARE ANALYZED AND APPROPRIATE GOALS ARE ESTABLISHED. CANDIDATES CONTINUE TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THEIR EMPLOYMENT COUNSELOR UNTIL THEY HAVE FOUND MEANINGFUL AND APPROPRIATE EMPLOYMENT. THE EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT SPENDS MANY HOURS CULTIVATING POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A BROADER SPECTRUM OF AVAILABLE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROJECT EZRAH CLIENT/CANDIDATE. IN 2022, THE EMPLOYMENT TEAM WORKED DIRECTLY WITH 284 IN-HOUSE CANDIDATES AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN PLACING 67 CANDIDATES (24%). ADDITIONAL AND COMPLIMENTARY SERVICES HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO AUGMENT THE JOB-SEARCH EXPERIENCE: (1) A LINKEDIN GROUP PROMOTES NETWORKING. OVER 2,500 CANDIDATES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS USE THIS FORMAT TO EXPAND EACH CANDIDATE'S OWN NETWORK OF CONTACTS AND ANSWER APPROPRIATE INDUSTRY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. (2) SEMINARS ARE HELD TO ASSIST, ENCOURAGE, ENLIGHTEN AND BROADEN A CANDIDATE'S KNOWLEDGE IN A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS. 2022'S SEMINARS WERE: DATA SCIENCE - GROW YOUR SKILLS. HOW TO BEAT INFLATION. READY SET ZOOM. RECENT INITIATIVES: IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP CURRENT WITH COMMUNITY NEEDS, THE ORGANIZATION HAS INITIATED A PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY NEW AREAS THAT WILL SUPPORT ITS MISSION GOALS: HELP EZRAH HELP: IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE SOME FINANCIAL EXPENDITURES ON BEHALF OF ITS CLIENTS, THE ORGANIZATION HAS MADE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO AVAIL ITSELF OF PRO BONO SERVICES DONATED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND HAS THUS CREATED A BASE WITH A BROAD RANGE OF DONATED SERVICES (E.G. LEGAL ASSISTANCE, MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE, FINANCIAL PLANNING, TAX PREPARATION AND ACCOUNTING, TUTORING.) BY THE END OF 2022, THE ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO DRAW FROM OVER 180 PRO BONO PROVIDERS, WHICH ENABLED THE ORGANIZATION TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDS IN AREAS OF GREATER NEED. (AT THE END OF 2021 THE ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO DRAW FROM OVER 160 PRO BONO PROVIDERS.) THE AISLE: A PATHWAY TO FINANCIAL FIDELITY. A SPECIALIZED TRAINING SEMINAR, TARGETING ENGAGED OR NEWLYWED COUPLES, TO TEACH MONEY MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET PREPARATION. THIS SPECIFIC GROUP HAS BEEN SELECTED IN ORDER TO PREVENT FINANCIAL COLLAPSE PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF THE YESHIVA TUITION AVALANCHE. PASSOVER GRANT PROGRAM: FOR FAMILIES WHO MIGHT NOT NEED THE INTENSIVE SERVICES DURING THE YEAR THAT PROJECT EZRAH OFFERS, BUT DO NEED SUPPORT DURING VARIOUS POINTS IN THE YEAR. A GRANT APPLICATION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ALLOWS FAMILIES TO APPLY THROUGH AN ONLINE PORTAL. THIS IS ALSO USED AS AN ENTRYWAY INTO THE ORGANIZATION FOR FAMILIES WHO MIGHT BE IN NEED OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMMING BUT MIGHT HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT TO ACCESS IT. DAY CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS: FOR MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY DAY CAMP IS NOT A LUXURY BUT AN IMPORTANT FORM OF CHILD CARE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. TO HELP MAKE THIS MORE AFFORDABLE PROJECT EZRAH CREATED A DAY CAMP SCHOLARSHIP OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY.