The Rainbow Village Solution
Education—Rainbow Village provides educational opportunities and support for adults and children. Adults are required to attend year-round life-skills classes. School-aged children and youth attend our mandatory After-School Program, where tutoring, prep for standardized tests, and enrichment activities aimed at improving confidence and academic skills take place. While their mothers are in class, kids participate in “The Big Recess” and character-building activities facilitated by staff and volunteers.
Structure and Stability—Upon acceptance into the Rainbow Village program, each family commits to following a self-sufficiency plan based on an honest inventory of strengths and weaknesses—educational gaps, credit scores, amount of debt, employment and marital histories. Once their plans are designed, Rainbow Village families are held accountable—jobs or job searches are undertaken, monthly budgets are created and followed, savings accounts are established and maintained, children are required to attend the After-School Program and adults the life-skills classes. Failure to comply with the plan results in eviction from Rainbow Village, but for those who follow the guidelines and finish the one-year program, over 90% succeed. A “graduate” program, which includes mentorship of current families and volunteer assistance with events, provides continuing emotional and educational support—children and youth continue to participate in activities as well.
Housing—While families participate in the Rainbow Village program, they are provided fully furnished, comfortable homes, for which they pay rent based on income. When they acquire housing on their own, the furniture in their transitional homes goes with them, but more importantly, they carry their new ways of living with them, too.
Community—At Rainbow Village, community begins with the staff, but by no means does it end there. It includes our board of directors, our volunteers, and our donors. We all need community—we all need each other.
And Rainbow Village needs YOU.
Grant funds, restricted for use in providing the programs and services above, are easier to acquire than funds for general operating support. For operations, we depend on event proceeds and donations from individuals, religious organizations, companies and civic groups, all of which have been affected by the economy. Our event proceeds and donations are down this year while the numbers of families in need are increasing every day.
To support general operations, we’ve set a goal to raise $100,000 by the end of 2009. For some, that may sound daunting…until you do the math. If only 500 people, religious organizations, civic clubs and/or companies committed to giving an average of $100 each month, our general operations expenses would be covered.
So, we’ve launched a new program, the Angel Monthly Donor Program, where our supporters can spread giving across the year, contributing once a month—$25, $100, $500 or more, as they are able. Rainbow Village needs Angels—
Cherubs ($25-$99/mo), Guardians ($100-$499/mo) and Archangels ($500+/mo)
With your monthly support, we will meet our goal.
We invite you to become a guardian of the mission…
Become a Rainbow Village Angel today by clicking on the image below.
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