💕Giving opportunity (my 1/2 birthday fundraiser) 💕 Hi everyone. I'm hoping you'll consider a donation to LUCY Outreach, a wonderful organization with a tremendous need and a Charity Navigator score of 97%. LUCY serves youth in Camden, New Jersey, a city suffering from a 30% poverty rate and only a 60% high school graduation rate. LUCY started as a youth group in a church basement more than a decade ago and has grown into a 501(c)(3) with a wide outreach and a community center that serves as a landmark in the Camden community. In addition to after-school care, tutoring, and college entrance support to help Camden youth achieve a strong education foundation and to break cycles of poverty, LUCY also has robust summer programs serving the social, emotional, and physical needs of 65 children and more than 200 teens. Unfortunately, like many charities, this year is particularly challenging for us. I joined the Board of LUCY in May and can directly testify to the impact of federal budget cuts on the organization. We lost eight summer interns due to a cancelled AmeriCorps program and our foodbank is threatened by an expected $450mm reduction to our state’s nutrition funds. All of this comes at a time when the community is struggling with cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. I hope you’ll consider a gift today, so that we can continue to develop future leaders, support human potential, and Lift Up Camden’s Youth. Thank you so much!