DSST Staff,
Happy Friday! Congratulations on a great first week of E-School. I am so proud of each one of you for the role you played in our launch this week. While not perfect, we are off to a great start!
We know that many of our families and our staff are hurting because of the COVID Pandemic and the resulting economic devastation. As a values first, people first organization, we must respond to the people we love - you and our families. Our response to this crisis is motivated by DSST’s View of the Human Condition, which lies at the heart of DSST. As you know, it says,
Every person desires to be affirmed for their unique gifts and talents and every person desires to make some positive contribution to the human story.
We need to support every member of our DSST Family as much as we can in the next couple of months so they can continue to survive this time and recover to thrive. To do so, this morning we launched the DSST COVID Family Relief Fund to support our 7,000 students, families, and staff. Our goal is to raise $50,000 to assist with food and other critical needs of our DSST family.
Phase 1 of this fund will focus on feeding our families and staff who need access to food. We know many people are struggling to put food on the table after losing their jobs. We have formed an amazing partnership with the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network (DMEFN) to produce and deliver nutritious and affordable meals to our students, families and staff members in need. DMEFN has agreed to scale their efforts to serve up to 1,000 DSST families and staff members in need. The cost per meal is just $4.50 which includes delivery. Will look at providing other forms of assistance through the Fund after we have met phase 1 food needs.
Members of our Network’s Senior Team and Board of Directors have generously given the first $25,000 and, in turn, are challenging our community to match their gifts to raise an additional $25,000, bringing us to that $50,000 total. Every dollar you give will turn into $2 for the Fund!
What do I need you to do to help? Several things:
- If you are in need of food assistance, you can visit this page to participate in the DSST COVID Family Relief Fund food assistance program.
- If any of your students need food support, please reach out to them and encourage them to sign up!
- We hope that you will consider making a donation to support our DSST family. Any amount you can give helps. Make a donation to the Family Relief Fund here.
- If you would like to volunteer your time to help deliver meals or take calls on the hotline serving families, click here.
It is such an honor and privilege to work on this team with you. Thank you for considering to join me in deeply supporting and loving the DSST family in the months ahead.
All my best,
Bill
