Love Inc of Boise Community Incorporated

Overall program accomplishments: in 2022, volunteer hours increased to 6,810 hours and this was with only 238 volunteers compared to 247 in 2021. This increased the average number of hours from 20 to 29 in 2022 with some volunteers serving well over 100 hours. Through the pandemic and into 2022, we lost the participation of many of our senior citizen volunteers who have traditionally been the majority of our volunteer base. We have already gained some new volunteers and plan on making a big push in this area in 2023. The number of clients continued to decline the first half of 2022 but then started to increase in september, however, not to previous levels.another significant change in our program was that service projects (home repair, yard work, moving teams, etc.) Had all but stopped in 2022. We plan on reinstituting this aspect of our program when the number of volunteers and client requests in this area have increased.with client numbers down in our abundant living program, we began the process of improving and expanding the courses offered. Our four week each "budget 1x and "budget 2" classes were combined and completely redeveloped into an eight week "money matter$" course. This includes training on a third-party financial app which clients receive as an incentive for completing the course. Additionally, an eight week "life 101" life skills course was developed addressing the following areas: physical/health, mental/thinking, feelings/emotions, relationships/communication, vocational/work, and spiritual/god. This, along with our money matter$ and a to-be developed "recreational" courses are evolving into an overall curriculum called "the eight pieces of the life program." So far the courses have been received well. One other significant change in the curriculum is that more scripture has been added to the lessons to support the "christ centered" nature of our classes.the ministry multiplied donations to give over $89,000 in goods and services. Church partnerships are essential to Love Inc. and volunteers are its lifeblood. Our Community of churches, networking together, host various resource sites or gap ministries. They refer people in need to our clearinghouse where we can determine the legitimacy and depth of the need. Volunteers use their many talents in coordinated efforts, such as: training, mentoring and supporting the abundant living program, home repair, yard work, moving teams, and craft work, as well as participating in Community projects and demonstrating the unity of the body of christ in prayer and service of those in need.

The Clearinghouse is a volunteer-manned call center dedicated to hearing the story of those in need. Our process is designed to vet not only the legitimacy but also the depth of the need. Historically, we field an average of 120 calls per month, make over 1,000 local referrals, and service around 1,500 families with products/services through GAPS. GAP Ministries are cooperative efforts coordinated through the local churches to provide products and services not easily accessible or affordable in the community.

We continued to see a drop in clients, volunteers and overall volunteer hours through may of 2022, but then we saw increases in clients and volunteer hours by the end of year, and this was with fewer volunteers.abundant living is our free Community training program which offers practical courses which focus on breaking the cycle of living in constant need. Courses emphasize basic budgeting, life skills and ways to save. Actively engaged course participants earn additional resources for their effort. The program is designed to expand as needs in the Community are identified. The al kidz companion curriculum for children of adults in abundant living continued throughout 2022. The al kidz program mirrors the parent learning, supports kids' curiosity and concerns about money, and sets parents up as natural role models in the area of finances. In addition, it provides childcare for children while their parents are in classes and provides other resources for the children.to achieve our goal of equipping parents with age-appropriate ways to involve children in family finances, we have created 12 lessons to help children learn financial principles. In the lessons, parents and children identify the connection between emotions and money. Actively using the family activities worksheets helps reinforce productive communication between parent and child. Over time, families are in a position to reduce stress, build reserves to cash-flow minor emergencies and create financial stability which has proved to impact parents' resilience and the next generation's emotional development. Overall, the abundant living program enrollment usually grows (and contract) in proportion to church and local agency referrals. Both these sources of referrals continued to be down in 2022 as churches and government agencies were focused internally on coming back up to speed. We saw increases in referrals begin to increase in september and then again in november as christmas approached.