Blog - So What Else Inc

We Must Take a Stand

January 12, 2024/in Blog, Impact

Our nonprofit, So What Else (SWE), is the largest food distributor in Montgomery County, and yet we may lose the ability to fully provide for our clients because of a financial deficit at year-end caused by worsening inflation, increased demand for services, and a lack of funding from the Montgomery County Government for our food program.

Since the onset of the pandemic, SWE has distributed 35 million free meals in Montgomery County in less than four years. In late 2021, after our work began attracting attention, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) approached us and asked us to help feed the County HUBS, a partnership of eight community-based organizations and DHHS, because they could not continue to buy food for them as federal Covid-19 funds ran out. We immediately began feeding the HUBS throughout the county, and all we requested in return was modest support from Montgomery County to help offset these costs.

However, since July of 2023, we have received no financial support from the county for our services, totaling 4.5 million meals in a six-month span, while likewise receiving no answer on 2024 support after an appropriation was denied and the grants process for nonprofit awards was delayed with no announcement in sight. As a result, we are now in grave danger of having to deny critical, lifesaving access to hunger relief for our thousands of clients due to a $250,000 dollar budget deficit.

The County has a $7 billion budget. All we are asking for is $360,000 to supplement the millions of dollars we are already raising in order to ensure their constituents, their HUBS, can continue to receive the food access they desperately need. As prices continue to rise in grocery stores and demand for food across the county continues to grow, we are being pushed beyond our current capacity and financial means and cannot continue to operate without significant cutbacks posed to hurt our clients, staff, and volunteers.

So we are calling all individuals, all community organizations, local businesses, and supporters, both former and current, to please join us in taking a stand to fight for food access in our county. Donate at the bottom of this page, petition your county representatives to financially support our work, and share this message far and wide. All donations will be matched up to $150,000 and are vitally needed. Every single dollar counts.

We cannot bridge the gap without you, and we cannot afford to wait. Thank you.

Donate Today & Help Us Bridge the Gap: https://sowhatelse.salsalabs.org/bridgethegap/index.html

Sign the Petition: https://chng.it/yPMN5HvdDg

Thank you for making this Thanksgiving our most successful yet!

December 11, 2023/in Blog, Impact

Coming into November, we were unsure if we’d be able to meet the demands of our clients. It’s been a tough year for nonprofits, and So What Else is no exception. With 10,000 families relying on our Montgomery County, DC, and Baltimore teams to provide them with the poultry and produce they needed for Thanksgiving, we had our work cut out for us.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff and volunteers, the many organizations and community members that hosted food drives on our behalf, and the hundreds of supporters that donated over $17,000 to our Thanksgiving Giveback, we were able to meet the challenge head-on and give our clients the Thanksgiving they deserve. Here are some of the highlights:

In Baltimore, we distributed 770 chickens to families in need and supported 16 food distributions across the city with produce and other holiday items, the largest of which fed over 1,000 people! One of our wonderful partners, Rev. Dr. Sheila Davis, shared, “Thank you so much for your generous donation of fruits, vegetables, and bread to our Empowerment Temple AME Church. It was a huge success, and it blessed so many people. God bless So What Else Inc. for the great work you do to help those in need.”

Our Washington, D.C. team was also able to distribute 800 chickens throughout the community! We were also able to distribute 800 chickens across 10 sites in Washington, DC!

The impact didn’t stop there! Across Montgomery County, we gave out nearly 2,000 chickens to families in need. While we weren’t able to purchase poultry for every client, we worked our hardest to ensure everyone could put food on their table for the holiday. When combined with other recovered food and donations, we were able to feed a total of 4,000 families in North Bethesda, Gaithersburg, and neighboring communities.

None of this would have been possible without the support of each and every one of you. From our donors to our partners to our volunteers and our sponsors, our So What Else community is what enables us to move mountains for the families we serve. Thanksgiving may be over, but the winter holidays are right around the corner. We will need your help once again to continue supporting families moving into December. Get involved in our Holiday Hearts of Gratitude movement by going to https://sowhatelse.salsalabs.org/2023holidayheartsofgratitude. Thank you, and happy holidays!

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

All SWE volunteer opportunities are listed here & signing up is easy! Create your profile and browse opportunities that fit your interests and availability. Please be sure to register for each instance of a volunteer opportunity you wish to serve. For example, if you want to help out at the Saturday Outdoor Food Pantry, be sure to sign up each time (instance) you want to serve. Please note that sign-ups will be deactivated 24 hours before the start of an opportunity. For last-minute sign ups, please send an email to volunteer@sowhatelse.org.

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!

A Full Circle Moment: Daryl’s Story

November 9, 2023/in Blog, Impact

Daryl’s life didn’t start off easy. Growing up in the Wingate community of Washington, DC, he often recalls there being rampant violence in his neighborhood growing up. His mother, hoping to give him a better way, enrolled him in a So What Else youth program, and while she couldn’t have known it then, this soon became one of the major themes of Daryl’s life – and his family’s.

You see, Daryl isn’t just one of our former students. He’s also a former volunteer and current employee, spending nearly his entire life involved with So What Else in one capacity or another. As time went on, many of his family members became involved in the So What Else movement, with many of them still working as So What Else staff members today.

Years ago, after aging out of the program, Daryl made the decision to come back to volunteer, feeling that it “put him in a better mindset” and “added positivity” to his life. So when he was given the opportunity to work for So What Else as a paid teacher, he couldn’t resist. “So What Else showed me a lot,” shared Daryl. “Teaching is hard, but I like that I can pay it forward and be a good role model for today’s kids.”

At So What Else, our youth programs don’t just end when our students age out. By offering positive, productive opportunities to teens and young adults, we give our students the ability to grow with us and give back to the organization they’ve known since childhood. In doing so, we’re creating an intergenerational community of students, volunteers, teachers, and supporters working together to address the root causes of violence and create a better future for all.

Yesterday’s students are today’s teachers and mentors. When you support So What Else, you’re supporting the creation of productive outlets for young people living in the communities we serve. “I have no idea what I’d be doing if I wasn’t working at So What Else,” said Daryl, reflecting on his life. And we’re glad he’s here working with us.

Join the Launch Cares Student Challenge

October 13, 2023/in Blog

For Students 18 and Younger

If you’re a student looking to make an impact- and get rewarded while doing it, join the So What Else / Launch Cares Student Challenge! From now until October 20th, help us promote this year’s race and receive a free gift card in return. Students who encourage 10 friends or family members to sign up for the race will receive a $10 gift card. Students who encourage a business or organization to sponsor the race will receive a $50 gift card. Email dsilbert@sowhatelse.org with the list of runners/sponsors you’ve signed up in order to receive your reward. Good luck!

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!

Sending Donations Where They’re Needed Most

August 29, 2023/in Blog, Impact

Months ago, our team in North Bethesda received a large donation unlike any other. While the team is used to receiving miscellaneous items and unrecognizable food items, they’d never imagined they’d be asked to take in hundreds of thousands of surgical gowns from Blessed in Tech Ministries. Never one to pass up a donation, they accepted, though at the time, they were unsure when or who they’d give them away to. For months they sat in our warehouse while we searched for someone to take them. But On Monday, July 24th, with the help of FC Group, we were able to send all 253,972lbs of surgical gowns where they will be needed most: the frontlines of Ukraine.

It’s moments like we’re humbled by the scale of our work and the global impact we’re able to have during exchanges such as these. Thank you to FC Group for facilitating this exchange and sending these gowns to a good home.

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!

New Food Pantry Grand Opening

August 2, 2023/in Blog, Impact

On Saturday, July 22nd, we unveiled our newly relocated Montgomery County Pantry and Thrift Store and were humbled by the outpouring of support we received. Sponsors, dignitaries, and supporters from all over the state joined us in ushering in this newest chapter of the So What Else story and sharing our mission with the world. Notable speakers included representatives from the offices of Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, State Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr, Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Laurie-Anne Sayles, and Will Jawando, and Patrick M. Campbell of Montgomery County DHHS. Catering was provided by Mamma Lucia and Sardi’s Restaurants, and coffee was provided by the incredible volunteer team from the Plaza del Mercado Starbucks.

We began the day by tying our festivities to the essence of why we do this work: our clients. Highlighting our Saturday outdoor food distribution, attendees were able to witness firsthand the magnanimity of the food crisis in our community and the thousands of pounds of food we recover in order to end it.

We then gave a tour of the new facility, one of the largest food distribution centers in the State of Maryland, while highlighting the importance of our other efforts to recover items such as clothing, books, diapers, and more.

But the real showstopper was the unveiling of our Brick in the Wall mural, showcasing the many sponsors that donated to help us reach this momentous day. With their support, we were able to find a home where we could not only continue to feed Montgomery County but expand and grow to feed more communities and more counties than ever before. It was only fitting that they have a permanent presence in our home, and we were honored to make them the focal point of the day’s festivities.

The day concluded with speeches, remarks, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony we’ll never forget. While this marks the conclusion of our search to find a new home, our story in North Bethesda is only just beginning, and the need for resources is only growing. Day by day, week by week, the number of clients we serve grows higher, and the need for financial support becomes more pertinent. But it’s not too late to etch your name into this era of So What Else and help us meet this challenge head-on. If you would like to be a part of our ever-growing movement to join us as we continue to write history, click here to donate a brick to our wall. Thank you.

Food Access For All!

July 5, 2023/in Blog

Since the onset of the pandemic, So What Else has launched headfirst into the world of food recovery with one singular guiding principle: everyone deserves access to food. So we could think of no better way to demonstrate this than by sharing our much-needed food resources with our friends across the Chesapeake Bay last week during a pop-up distribution in Pocomoke City on the Eastern Shore.

While most people think of food insecurity as a predominantly urban issue, many forget that over 87% of rural counties in the US suffer from food insecurity, and with limited transportation options and fewer resources available, if at all, many find food support scarce and inaccessible.

So last month, So What Else teamed up with a number of participating apartment complexes in Worcester County to help bring food resources directly to rural residents in need, bridging transportation barriers and making our food as easy to access as possible. Despite being over 150 miles away, we jumped at the opportunity to support a community traditionally forgotten by most safety nets.

Thank you to our incredible team for making the trek across the bay and to TM Associates for organizing this event. We couldn’t have done this without all of you. We can’t wait for the next opportunity to support our rural neighbors and feed more families in more communities!

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!

Help Provide Summer Nutrition for Children

June 8, 2023/in Blog

We need your help to ensure food access for underserved youth this summer. As you may already know, we host several community-based camps across the Washington metropolitan area each summer, completely free of charge. In doing so, we provide our students with essential prepared breakfasts and lunches to ensure no child at a So What Else camp goes hungry.

Here in Washington, D.C., we provide free summer programming to over 80 students in Ward 8, five days a week, totaling a need for 800 meals a week beginning in July. For many of these students, So What Else summer camps are one of the few safety nets standing between them and hunger, making it imperative to supply these meals. It’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly but a challenge we find incredibly fulfilling. As an organization focused on the health and well-being of all communities, there is no greater reward than seeing the smiles on our student’s faces after giving them the nutritious, high-quality meals they deserve.

But we cannot do it alone. Eight hundred meals a week is a lofty goal that cannot be met without contributions from generous partners such as yourself. Help us keep Washington youth fed this summer by making one of the following contributions:

Make a one-time donation of $750 to cover the cost of lunch for all 80 students across all four of our summer camps for a day, which includes the price of food, plates, utensils, napkins, and delivery fees. You can donate here: https://linktr.ee/sowhatelsedonates
Purchase 80 high-quality meals for our D.C. campers and hand-deliver them on-site. This allows you to experience volunteering, where you will hand out meals to each child and see the impact of your contribution first-hand.
Order 80 nutritious meals from a restaurant of your choice, and we will take care of the delivery and distribution process on your behalf.

No child should go hungry because school is out for the summer. Please let us know if you’d like to partner to make a difference today.

Thank you for supporting local children!

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!

New Food Box Program for Students!

April 11, 2023/in Blog, Impact

We have recently launched a new initiative to address food insecurity among students. Thanks to the Fowler Foundation’s suggestion, So What Else has developed a food box program that ensures students have access to nutritious meals over the weekends and makes a real difference in the lives of many students.

The program is a perfect example of how we have connected our food and youth missions to make a significant impact on the community. We recognize that hunger can have a profound impact on a student’s academic performance and overall well-being. So, by providing food to these students, we are not only addressing a critical need but also contributing to the development of a healthy and successful future generation. The food boxes contain a variety of healthy foods that students can easily prepare over the weekend. The program aims to ensure that no student goes hungry and that they have the energy and resources they need to succeed in school and beyond.

The program also engages volunteers who pack and decorate the food boxes with the So What Else stickers and tape from Sticker Mule. Sticker Mule has been So What Else’s favorite sticker maker, and their contribution has been crucial in making the program successful. Volunteers are vital to the program’s success, and they not only help pack the boxes but also provide a sense of community and support to the students.

Overall, our new food box program is an excellent example of how we can connect our missions to make a real impact on the community. The program not only addresses food insecurity but also provides opportunities for community involvement and support. Thanks to the Fowler Foundation and Sticker Mule, So What Else can continue to provide nutritious food to students and help them thrive both in and out of the classroom.

If you are interested in volunteering with us:

If you are interested in Group / Team / Organization volunteering, please contact us at volunteer@sowhatelse.org!

If you’re interested in volunteering at one of our after-school or summer camp programs, please send an email to vfuentes@sowhatelse.org.

We hope to see you soon!