GiveGrowThrive

Earning a wage from A New Leaf is vital to our clients’ independent living journeys. Our clients earn paychecks that afford them the flexibility to continue buying groceries and not have to use the food banks. They allow them to continue paying their bills and managing their rent without having to reach out for assistance from the utility companies or landlords. By enabling people with Developmental Disabilities and Autism to earn a wage beyond their monthly disability check ($750 on average), A New Leaf is providing an opportunity for a greater quality of living. This has been especially vital during the COVID pandemic as A New Leaf navigated the hardships felt by our clients during the last few months, and eventually hardships felt by the organization as well. A New Leaf made the moral decision to pay all 126 vocational clients while they were not working and the vocational center was closed; approximately $9,720/week. These paychecks helped our clients continue their lives as normally as possible. 

We want you to know about a new legislation for 2020 through the CARES Act. The law allows all taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 per individual above the standard deduction ($600 per married couple filing jointly). In order to continue to provide the essential resources we do, we need your help. We are asking you to consider making an additional $300 or $600 donation this year to A New Leaf . That would be a commitment of just an extra $50-$100 per month if your support begins in June. 

You might think that this is a small amount and would not make a difference, but what if all of our donors gave “just” an additional $300? $50 provides 1 month of positive behavior support for one client. $100 provides 7 hours of independent daily living support for one client. $300 provides two weeks’ worth of wages for one client! Such support will have a huge impact on those we serve. 

Our staff regularly jump into action to ensure our clients have all they need through all the programs offered at A New Leaf. Everything is done so that clients can live the most fulfilling and independent lives possible. During the last few weeks this has been demonstrated to the extreme by our staff who we were repositioned or on-call for residential care services since our clients were at home, creating an increase in overtime pay of $4,368/week but demonstrating their commitment to unwavering support. Here at A New Leaf we are a client-centered organization and everything we do is to better the lives of our clients and help them navigate through the daily barriers they face so that they can be a part of the community. 

For more information on how you can help make a difference with just an extra $50 a month, while maximizing your deductions when giving to A New Leaf, please reach out to Maranda Figueroa at maranda.figueroa@anewleaf.org. Thank you for your continued support! 

Sincerely, 

Mary Ogle