Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy new year!
Community Food Distribution
During the spring and summer months the Brick House adapted to COVID-19 by offering free food distributions to community members multiple times per week. Thanks to the hard work and creativity of Aisha Russell, Food Resources Manager extraordinaire, food distributions included hot meals to go generously provided by Stone Soup Cafe, Great Falls Harvest, and amazing volunteer chef Molly Merrett, as well as fresh vegetables and staple grocery items donated by Rachel’s Kitchen and Atlas Farms. Thanks to the dedication of Wallace Louis, who worked on-site at the food distributions last summer, community members had safe access to healthy food throughout the week.
We are incredibly grateful for the staff and community partners who made the food distributions successful, as well as the many community members who volunteered to help with distributions and home deliveries.
Youth Program
It has been a very busy year for Youth Programs, with lots of growth amidst the challenges of the pandemic. We are so grateful that staff, AmeriCorps members, and youth have stayed connected through regular Zoom drop-ins, social-distance walks, outdoors Momentum Arts classes and drop-in hours, paid internships, and service learning opportunities.
Six youth participated in the first Brick House Summer Paid Internship Program, interning at the Great Falls Farmers Market and maintaining the Unity Park community gardens. Youth interns gained valuable first time work experience and were happy to have a routine during the summer months.
This fall we welcomed amazing AmeriCorps members Daniela Jurado and Ilani Ortiz to the team!! With their support, we have launched one-on-one online homework support, and weekly online health and wellness workshops on a range of topics including: Consent and healthy relationships, Safe Sex, and Coping with Stress.
Parent And Family Program
We continue to offer one-on-one support and referrals for families and individuals. We are currently offering a monthly online parent group covering different topics every month. This fall we collaborated with Montague Catholic Social Ministries to offer “Sueños,” a new ServSafe certification program for Spanish-speaking community members. We have been able to stay in touch with families through phone, email, and occasional outdoor meetings. We are thrilled to have AmeriCorps member Daniela Jurado help with our program this year!
Welcome Kwamane,
Our New Executive Director!
After an extensive search, we are very excited to have Kwamane Harris as the new Executive Director at the Brick House. Kwamane has 15 years of experience working with youth in the non-profit sector. In his words, “My entire professional career has been devoted to working with young people and families, and after getting to know the folks at the Brick House it was without question, unequivocally, that they too are committed to youth and families, and that is something I want to be a part of.” Kwamane has a B.S in Criminal Justice and a MBA from Western Governor’s University.
We appreciate your support!
Your donations allow us to sustain our programming and continue connecting youth and families with much-needed resources. We are relying on your support more than ever in this very difficult and challenging year.
To learn more, volunteer, or get involved:
info@brickhousecommunity.org
follow us on facebook @brickhousecommunity