2021 has been a pivotal year for Uplift Mid-MO. Coming out of the pandemic, we really weren’t sure what this year would look like, especially with the new government stimulus checks being mailed to families, and everyone really just struggling to get their bearings back after the strangest time in my recent memory.
What we were reminded of this year is that regardless of the circumstances in the world, God is good. This year, we hosted our first-ever fundraiser, which was wildly successful, thanks to our amazing supporters and business partners. We raised over $4,000 in funds at our first-annual Uplift Color Run 5K, which was just enough to cover exactly what we needed to help folks this year. We welcomed Kara Wieberg as a new Board Member, we pitched in to serve hundreds of kids that came to our community for Mission to Mexico, and we added First Presbyterian Church as a church partner. We were honored to receive an award from CMCA as recognition for our partnership with them to serve individuals in Audrain County.
As I write this, we’ve interacted with about 30 clients in 2021. We paid rent, deposits, utility bills, community resources, started a new voucher system with the Handi Shop, provided hygiene items, fuel, pastoral counseling referrals, space heaters, household appliances, laundry, state ID’s, and more. We provided career mentorship and budget coaching and helped several clients acquire housing.
In addition, we’ve been able to bless four families from our Church Partners with a $100 voucher to purchase their Thanksgiving meal, and provided support to ACCIS and Angel Wings.
We are very excited to move forward into 2022. We have spent a lot of time in 2021 making preparations to improve our programs and are looking forward to adding more church partners to the mix. We just moved into our new office space at 222 S Jefferson St., Suite 201, here in Mexico. This will allow us to have a place to work with clients in-person as we come out of the “virtual” season we’ve been in. Additionally, we are looking to hire a part-time employee in 2022 to help us to be able to move clients through our programs more efficiently.
We would like to thank our church & agency partners, as well as our business partners and other faithful supporters for believing in Uplift Mid-MO. I would like to extend a special thank you to our Board Members: Katie Burson, Cora Clampitt, Becky Kennedy, Lennette Brown, Julie Nance, Kara Wieberg and Bonnie Martin for all of the time they have put in this year to make Uplift Mid-MO successful. Thank you to our numerous volunteers that have always been there when we needed you. This is truly a community effort, and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for Uplift Mid-MO in 2022.
Kate Shaw
Uplift Mid-MO Founder & Board President
Uplift Mid-MO 