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Invest in EFAA and make a huge impact on someone’s life.

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This past summer, we saw first hand the devastation Mother Nature can wreak on a community and how quickly a family, an entire community, can lose everything – their homes, their jobs, their hope. Our staff works with families everyday who face similar crisis here in our own community.

According to the Bell Policy Centers, Colorado now ranks as the worst state in the country for the number of working poor families (93%) who must spend more than one-third of their income on housing costs. Working poor is defined as those who are working but whose expenses exceed their income. For 87 years, Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA) has been our community’s safety net for the working poor – families, seniors and people with disabilities. We invite you to invest in EFAA and make a significant impact on someone’s life.

We are very appreciative of your support! Since 9/11/01, we’ve seen a 43% increase in families receiving assistance. Last year, EFAA helped 3,000 unique families in Boulder and Broomfield counties who needed help to regain their financial stability -- that’s over 9,000 individuals of which over 5,000 were children under the age of 16.

EFAA exists to meet basic needs. Last year EFAA provided:

1,704 households with 232,155 lbs. of food;
915 families with rent assistance to avoid eviction;
509 families with utility assistance to avoid service shut-off;
177 families with emergency shelter and case management services; and
25 families with longer term shelter and case management services in our transitional housing program.

Requests for assistance continue to climb; will you send a gift today and help us meet these needs?

EFAA is able to provide basic needs and shelter to low-income families through the generous support of the community; 83 cents of every dollar donated to EFAA goes straight to direct services for clients. Because we rely on hundreds of volunteers and utilize many in-kind donations we are able to operate efficiently which means your gift goes a long way. For example a gift of:

$25 provides food for a family of four for a month;

$50 sends 10 kids living in emergency shelter on a field trip through the children’s program;
$100 helps a family avoid having their power shut-off;
$250 helps a family with rent and prevents them from being evicted;
$4,500 will house a family of four for an average stay of 8 weeks in emergency shelter including the support services needed to regain stable housing.

In an effort to respond to increasing needs, we invite you to become a sustaining donor by making an on-going monthly or quarterly gift using your credit card.

Please know that EFAA’s board and staff understand the financial challenges we all live with on a daily basis. Your gift today, whatever the size, when added to gifts from others, can make a huge difference in someone’s life – it can create miracles. We value your support and are committed to using it wisely. When we see people with no food and no place to live, we know how important every dollar we receive can be. A client recently told us, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You helped save my life and bring me off homelessness. I feel so blessed that you were able to help me and want you to know how much I needed your assistance and how much I appreciate your help.” This keeps us focused on using our funds wisely.

Please send your gift today by going to our website at www.efaa.org and click on the “to give help” button and please, be as generous as possible. Together we are building a more caring community.

Thank you and happy holidays!

IRS Ruling for 2005 may allow you to give more!

p> IRS Ruling for 2005 may allow you to give more!

According to the IRS, the “Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA) gives you the oppor tunity to give more until 12/31/05. Contact your tax advisor for more information.

Thanks to Engle Homes and the Boulder County Homebuilders Association

p> Thanks to Engle Homes and the Boulder County Homebuilders Association, a Triplex in North Boulder to expand Transitional Housing Program will be ready to welcome new occupants in February 2006. Through the generosity of Engle Homes and the Boulder County Homebuilders Association’s unique program called HomeAid the building community in Boulder County is rallying the residential construction industry and it’s suppliers to donate the majority of the labor and material needed to build these three two-bedroom units.

The Homebuilders have been joined by the City of Boulder, Boulder County, the State of Colorado, St. Johns Foundation and individuals who made donations to this project at our annual fundraiser in 2004 to provide 100% of the funding needed for this project.

EFAA’s Transitional Housing Program has been a wonderful “Second Step” for homeless families who need support beyond what we can provide in our emergency shelter units. While our shelter units offer housing and supportive services for an average of seven weeks, the transitional program provides up to two years to families who need more time to regain financial stability or self sufficiency.

The stories of people who stay in EFAA’s current inventory of 15 transitional units in Boulder and Lafayette let us know that this help makes incredible differences in the live of people we serve. For example, last year “Patti”, who was a single mom with two kids lost her job and was being evicted because she could not pay her rent. She was provided emergency shelter through our program in Boulder before entering our transitional program. While in the transitional program she worked closely with an EFAA caseworker to plan and stick to a budget and to further her education. She has graduated with a degree in Medical Assisting, found a full time job and moved her family into permanent affordable housing. These new units will allow EFAA to help more “Patti’s” to help themselves.