August Non-Profit: African Community Education (ACE)
/By Dani Babineau
For so many organizations, 2020 can be defined by a single world: pivot.
It seems like every business and non-profit has had to throw their plans in the trash and reinvent themselves - sometimes multiple times. We certainly know the feeling, as does our August nonprofit, African Community Education - and they’ve done an admirable job pivoting during the pandemic, including offering virtual educational programming, providing financial flexibility to students and their families, and honoring their college-bound students online.
For those who aren’t familiar with ACE - which was also our non-profit of the month last August - the organization assists African refugee and immigrant youth and families in achieving educational success and socio-economic stability through access to academic support, leadership development, cultural expression, and community outreach. Worcester is one of the largest hubs in the country for African-born immigrants, with a population near 20,000. While some of these immigrants find socio-economic success upon moving to the United States, many others, including many refugees, do not - which is why ACE’s work is so important.
We talked with Tim O’Neil, ACE’s Marketing & Fundraising Manager, about the amazing work ACE has done over the last 12 months, and what they’ve got planned in the coming months. Check it out to learn more!
1. The past year has obviously not been great for everyone, but let's start on a positive note - what have been some of ACE's highlights since last August?
Thanks for the refreshing question to kick things off! I’ll highlight a couple of different milestones here.
In November, we held the 13th Annual ACE Gala, along with our first-ever ACE Fashion Show at Mechanics Hall. Participating in the Fashion Show was an incredibly empowering experience for ACE students. That event raised more than $62,000 for ACE programs, nearly double the amount from 2018. Part of that total was the $3,157 raised from Redemption Rock customers last year. You can read more about the event in this great recap.
We typically hold our ACE Festival each June, which we had to cancel this year. One of the major highlights of that event is honoring ACE high school graduates, and we have really enjoyed virtually honoring these students in a series of stories and photoshoots. This year, we have graduates set to attend Clark University, Assumption University, Worcester State University, and Quinsigamond Community College. It’s been so inspiring to see these students overcome all of the recent challenges to finish their senior years strong and earn their degrees. You can check out their stories here.
2. How has COVID impacted ACE and what changes have you made to adjust?
In March, we shifted all of our programs to remote learning on the fly. A lot went into ensuring ACE students and families could be successful given the new challenges presented by the pandemic and remote learning. We cannot say enough about how all members of the ACE community - staff, volunteers, students, and supporters - went the extra mile to help make these necessary adjustments.
During the spring, we provided nearly 2,000 hours of video and phone support to ACE students, distributed 50 laptops to ensure access to remote learning, provided nearly 100 remote enrichment activities for students, and distributed over 600 masks to students and families.
All of the credit in the world goes to the students, who continued to answer their phones and show up to Zoom call after Zoom call so they could successfully continue their education. Their efforts have continued this summer as our Summer Reading and Workforce Development programs have been completely remote as well.
We are currently planning our programming for the fall and will have more definite plans soon, depending on the final decisions coming from Worcester Public Schools.
During the spring, we also launched the ACE Family Fund. The fund was started to ensure ACE families were prepared to take all of the necessary precautions to keep themselves healthy and safe during the pandemic.
Going into the pandemic, we knew that, unfortunately, and to no fault of their own, many ACE parents would be at risk of losing some or all of their income due to lay-offs or other complications. We wanted to be able to provide direct cash assistance to families in need of food, cleaning supplies, utilities, healthcare, and more.
Our original goal was to raise $5,000, but the ACE community rallied around the cause and to-date has raised just under $10,000. Over $6,000 of this has been distributed to dozens of families in need of immediate assistance.
3. Last year, our customers raised $3,157 for ACE - how did those funds help, and what might this year's donations go toward?
As mentioned, the $3,157 raised last year helped us to surpass our goal of raising $60,000 at the ACE Gala. As the Gala is our largest fundraiser, funds from this event go towards assisting every aspect of the organization.
Specifically, we were able to use these funds to hire a new Worcester Public Schools Liaison last year. She serves as a means of communication between ACE, the student, and the student’s parents and school. This position has been extremely important and beneficial, especially given all of the constantly changing communications amid the pandemic.
This year’s funds will also go towards helping us reach our Gala fundraising goal, which is $75,000. Now more than ever, financial flexibility is so important to nonprofit organizations like ours as several of the grants we normally receive are up in the air. Hitting our $75,000 goal will help to ensure we can continue to innovate and adjust in response to the changing needs of ACE students and families as school continues in the fall and beyond.
4. How else can people support ACE during these trying times?
There are a few ways!
VOLUNTEER OR MENTOR: We are seeking remote volunteers and mentors for the fall. Those interested can learn more here and fill out this form if they would like to volunteer!
BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR: Monthly donors help us to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the organization. Supporters can donate any amount per month and will receive a free welcome box complete with ACE T-shirt and African coffee or tea, discounts to ACE events, exclusive content, and more!
ATTEND THE (VIRTUAL) ACE GALA: This year’s event will be held remotely on Thursday, November 12. Although a virtual event, we are going to great lengths to make it special, including partnering with local businesses to provide food and drink options for guests…and Redemption Rock is one of them! Tickets will be available very soon!
STAY IN THE LOOP: Follow us on all social media (@aceworcester) and sign up for our email newsletter list here.
