Stigma

What an Impactful Year

The movie, Elf, is unquestionably one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. In a scene early in the movie, very early on Christmas morning after he has returned from his annual rounds, Santa congratulates the elves on another successful Christmas. As he concludes his pep-talk, he announces that it is time to get started on making toys for next year. And the elves enthusiastically start pounding away with their little toy-making hammers.

That’s how it feels here at Stigma. We had a very impactful year, but the work never ends, and we are excited to have an even bigger impact in 2021. Just yesterday morning, Monday, December 28th, we found five more rolling suitcases on our front porch that one of you donated. My daughter remarked that the donation came too late. I disagreed. I told her how excited I was to be getting the rolling suitcase and backpack drive for our homeless neighbors for Christmas 2021 off to such a great start!

The new year just brings new challenges. Let’s keep going!

Get Involved and Save Lives

For weeks now, we’ve been collecting rolling suitcases and backpacks to distribute in downtown Denver on Christmas Day. Thanks to the generosity of our awesome Stigma volunteers and donors, we have made great progress toward our goal of 1,000 rolling suitcases and backpacks. But we still have hundreds more to collect, and we need your help.

See what this event is all about. Check out this short video from our rolling suitcases and backpacks distribution from a couple of years ago.

Donate Your Rolling Suitcases

Thank you to all of our stigma fighters who have donated rolling suitcases for our Christmas in the Park event. We are making progress, but we still have a long way to go to reach our goal of 1,000 rolling suitcases and backpacks for our homeless neighbors.

Dust it Off and Save a Life

Christmas is going to be a little different this year, but that doesn’t have to be all bad. In this year of virus-imposed change, make a change for the better.

For the forth consecutive year, Stigma is collecting rolling suitcases and backpacks to distribute on Christmas Day to our homeless neighbors. The health and economic impacts of COVID have devastated our community, and those living in poverty have been significantly impacted. You can brighten you own holiday season by helping your neighbors survive the winter.

The Wait is Over. Let’s Go!

The election is over, but that means the work is just starting. There are a lot of hurting people. Let’s get to work!

Can you help with our Fooding Cabinets? The concept is much like the, “Little Free Libraries,” you see around town. People can take the food they need, and leave food for others as they are able. Small, two-drawer filing cabinets are used to house the food. The filing cabinets become Fooding Cabinets! It is a simple and creative idea, and Stigma Fighter, Sarah, wants to bring it to Denver. We want to support her efforts by stocking the Fooding Cabinets with Neighborlies to get this project successfully launched.

Fooding Cabinets: This Idea is Contagious

You’ve helped us send hundreds and hundreds of Neighborlies (emergency relief food bags) to homeless students in Denver Public Schools. You’ve carried Neighborlies in your cars to hand out to our homeless neighbors on street intersections around Denver. Now, we’ve got a brand new idea to get Neighborlies to the people. Again, we are turning to our loyal Stigma Fighters to help make this happen.

Sarah is a volunteer, a neighbor, and a supporter of our mission to crush the stigma. She saw a news report about a project in a Michigan town to provide food to hungry people. The concept is much like the, “Little Free Libraries,” you see around town. People can take the food they need, and leave food for others as they are able. Small, two-drawer filing cabinets are used to house the food. The filing cabinets become fooding cabinets! It is a simple and creative idea, and Sarah wants to bring it to Denver. We want to support her efforts by stocking the fooding cabinets with Neighborlies to get this project successfully launched.

Hundreds of Neighborlies Delivered to Homeless Students

Neighborlies Waiting for Delivery to DPS

We have delivered just over 500 Neighborlies (emergency relief food bags) to the Denver Public School’s Homeless Education Network so far. That is just over halfway to our goal of getting food into the hands and mouths of 1,000 homeless and food-insecure students.

Feeding Denver’s Homeless Students

Neighborlies Out the Door Heading to Homeless DPS Students

Earlier this week, we delivered our first shipment of 160 Neighborlies to the Denver Public School’s Homeless Education Network. These emergency relief food bags have already made it into the hands, and mouths, of food insecure kiddos supported by the program. Thank you to all of you who have donated to our annual Stigmattack fundraiser to help make this happen.

Last Day of Donation Match Grant Funding

Today is the final day you can contribute to Stigmattack and have your donation make double the impact. Donations received through the end of the day today will be matched by grant funding. Every dollar you donate will buy two dollars worth of food. If you donate $100, you will buy $200 worth of Neighborlies for DPS students experiencing homelessness. The dollar match grant funding ends today, so a donation today will have the maximum possible impact.

Beat the COVID Blues

Howdy stigma fighters. I know how much you care about your neighbors and our community. I also know how isolating and lonely it feels to do the right thing to prevent the spread of the virus. Nothing beats the loneliness and constant negativity like helping others. Here at Stigma, we challenge you to get involved in our Denver community. Below are four ways to participate. Please pick at least one, and make a difference in the lives of others (cause it will help you beat the COVID blues, too!).

Grant Funding Received

We have so much big news to share with you, our loyal supporters. We are making some significant progress in our efforts to crush the stigma!

Let’s get seriously Neighborly!

We have been approved to receive emergency relief “donation match” grant funding that we will use to supply Neighborlies to homeless students in Denver Public Schools. Thanks to all of you who have helped us distribute our new emergency relief food bags called “Neighborlies” to our homeless neighbors around Denver. Now we are going to need your help to supply potentially thousands of them to the DPS Homeless Education Network!