Jericho Partnership Launches CityServe Danbury

Jericho Partnership Launches CityServe Danbury

Joint effort - involving local churches, caring individuals and organizations, and the city - will reach into areas of unmet need, serving the chronically homeless and South Street School

DANBURY, CT – Jericho Partnership has launched a new initiative that will broaden its reach into the city and, coming alongside city officials, will serve Danbury’s chronically homeless and a Title 1 school that has academic and other tangible needs.

CityServe Danbury is a long-term initiative where volunteers from across the greater Danbury community will come together to participate in programs designed to 1) bring dignity and a means of support to the city’s homeless, and 2) support the students and staff at South Street Elementary School.

Jericho Partnership - a ministry that for the past decade has mobilized thousands of volunteers to serve the city’s at-risk population through 10 different inner-city ministries - will take the lead in connecting, vetting, equipping, and training volunteers to help meet the needs, which were identified by Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Danbury Schools Superintendent Sal Pascarella.

“This is all about inspiring people and pulling together as a community to impact others,” Boughton said. “It only takes one person, or one non-profit, or one company to raise a hand and say they want to do something amazing and touch lives in a meaningful way. That creates critical mass … and Jericho is leading the way.”

The first two projects:

Project CleanStart, announced by Boughton in his State of the City address last month, will give the city’s homeless men and women the opportunity to earn compensation, in the form of gift cards for food and services, for being on work teams tasked with cleaning up the city. Jericho’s CityServe volunteers will provide job coaching, and will support the logistics for this program.

South Street School, which has approximately 375 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, needs assistance in three main areas: bolstering students’ reading and other educational skills, assisting in building beautification, and supporting Parent-Teacher Association activities. Jericho volunteers will serve as Reading Buddies, mentors, small-project ‘handypeople’, and will help with school events.

Dr. Sal Pascarella, Danbury School Superintendent, said CityServe is poised as a “great example of what can happen when dedicated, passionate folks reach out to expand learning opportunities. The principal has embraced it, the teachers are excited about it. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“We love and are deeply committed to our ministry partners and, of course, they remain at the core of who Jericho is, but this is an opportunity for us to expand our service model,” said Jericho President Carrie L. Amos. “CityServe is all about connecting our churches to areas of need in the city. We’ve got a tremendous gift in this Partnership: 26 congregations who pray fervently for our city, who serve in our city, and who want to be better connected to our city. We’ve got an army of volunteers ready for mobilization and the means to mobilize more. So let’s get going!”

About Jericho Partnership

For the past decade, Jericho’s mission has been to mobilize volunteers from its 26 church partners, all in the greater Danbury area, to serve and transform the lives of the neediest people in the city. It does so through the efforts of its 10 ministry partners, which include a homeless shelter, a rehabilitation center, a medical clinic, a school for at-risk youth, a crisis pregnancy center, and mentoring programs, among other offerings.