It is estimated that more than 500,000 people experience homelessness across America each night, and this figure has only grown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why Integrated Project Management Company, Inc. (IPM) chose to support those experiencing homelessness during the 2021 holiday season for the fourth-quarter Integrated Project Mercy activities.
“The holidays tend be the hardest on those who already have less,” explained fourth-quarter Project Mercy lead Tim Ehr, a director in the Minneapolis office. “We’re trying to close that gap by giving some of these folks a feeling of normalcy. We can’t fix the situation, but we can decrease the gap when it’s felt most.”
Ehr and Lynn Seifried, the Project Mercy Q4 company leads, along with the Minneapolis team, supported Avivo, a nonprofit serving individuals who are working through various personal challenges. The team purchased and delivered 16 pies to contribute to the Thanksgiving dinner at the Village, Avivo’s transitional housing shelter. In January, the team purchased, assembled, and delivered 30 winter outreach kits, which included hats, gloves, hand and toe warmers, socks, and travel-size hygiene products.
In Parsippany, the team supported HomeFront, an organization that provides temporary shelter while they help families obtain affordable, stable housing. HomeFront also bridges the gap for those struggling to overcome homelessness by providing necessities and trainings to launch them toward sustained success and stability. The New Jersey team raised money to purchase several items to assist families in setting up their new homes, including household goods, food, and toiletries.
Volunteers in San Francisco assisted Compass Family Services. For more than 100 years, Compass Family Services has provided families in need with tools to work toward economic stability and well-being. IPM volunteers adopted a family to support during the holiday season and hand-delivered their gifts, shopped and wrapped various presents for the organization, and worked in Compass’ distribution warehouse organizing incoming gifts.
A team from the St. Louis office supported St. Patrick Center’s Christmas Wishes Family Sponsorship program. The center provides housing assistance to people in need, as well as training and employment placement services. The IPM team purchased, wrapped, and delivered gifts to three families to brighten their holiday season and bring them joy. The team provided numerous bags of shelf-stable groceries containing complete meal kits with accompanying delicious recipes for each family to enjoy throughout the season.
In Boston, the IPM team helped the Friends of Boston’s Homeless organization. The nonprofit relocates people off the streets or out of shelters into safe and stable housing as quickly as possible to improve quality of life and affect lasting change. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Boston team was not able volunteer in person. Instead, the team collected donations and supplemented them with the allocated budget to put together over 20 Welcome Home Baskets along with heartfelt personalized letters with words of encouragement.
Volunteers in Chicago supported the Chicago Help Initiative by assembling and donating bagged meals for the homeless. The initiative is a consortium of leaders striving to promote an atmosphere of dignity and compassion toward those in need by providing access to food, health services, shelter, and employment. IPMers produced 246 meals for the organization.
The LA family chose to support The Midnight Mission, an organization founded in 1914 that offers a path to self-sufficiency for people experiencing homelessness. After a COVID-19 outbreak within the organization, the LA team was not able to volunteer in person. Instead, they sent a monetary donation to support them during the difficult time.
IPM employees lead and participate in quarterly philanthropy efforts through our Integrated Project Mercy program. Visit our careers page to learn more about joining the IPM family.
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