Help Homies Grow and Thrive in 2021

Mutual aid is described as a voluntary and reciprocal exchange of resources. Homies Helping Homies is asking for your help to build a framework where this exchange can thrive, and our community can stay connected and tuned in to each other’s needs. Homies Helping Homies is a mutual aid initiative based in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia focused on the distribution of free household essentials in operation since June 2020. Homies Helping Homies is a no-status organization. We are not a charity. We are not a non-profit. We do not have government funding. We are just a few friends and neighbors that come together to collect and distribute food and essentials in our neighborhood. Since the summer we have cultivated a casual network of donors who we rely on for 100% of our funding. Through calls on social media, we source donations for funds as well as goods. We collect donations of goods from a secure no-contact donation chest we have located in Point Breeze.Throughout the week, we sort and inventory these donations and every two weeks, we use whatever funds we have collected to shop for items to stock our distribution tables. We stock shelf stable foods, baby care supplies, PPE and harm reduction supplies, household cleaning and personal hygiene products. We check in with our neighbors regularly to attempt to meet changing needs. For example, recently we have started stocking vitamins, socks and gloves, hand warmers and hats. Homies is and always has been operated out of a residential address in Point Breeze. The organizers who live there are moving, which means Homies is moving into a period of intense transition. Our distribution days have become an expected practice on the block we have been operating on and we are committed to keeping our distribution effort there. We need to buy a vehicle for one of our organizers so we can have a reliable way to transport goods from their new storage space, to our established distribution point. The organizer who will own and operate this vehicle is our only full time organizer. He quit his job to do Homies full time, and his house is about to become our new storage center for all of our inventory. This organizer is a licensed driver and will be solely responsible for all transport related tasks for the orginzation. Having a car will streamline shopping and trips to pick up bulk donations from some of the folks and orgs we are partnered with. Up until this point, these tasks have been something we have had to rely on friends and volunteers for. Getting one of our lead organizers a vehicle is crucial to our continued operations through the winter. Right now we have one big community distribution day every two weeks, we have long been trying to amp that up to doing a distribution day every week. In order to do that, we need to double our stock, invest in better storage furniture and double our volunteer hours. In order to maximize the donated goods we receive, we are looking to increase the number of no-contact 24 hour donation drop off points we offer in South Philly. So we need to buy weather-proof chests, chains and locks. We need a safety net. We need financial stability to confidently move forward through changes of circumstance and expanding our reach. We really need a few months of knowing how we are going to pay for the items we distribute while we work through these changes. Help Point Breeze thrive the way it always has: through communities coming together to meet each other's needs. By donating to this campaign you will be helping HHH pay for: -A used vehicle and the cost of its general upkeep and gas, so we can run the errands we need to run and move donations to the distribution site weekly. -Weather-proof chests, key lock boxes and chains, so we can increase the number of donation points we offer. -New industrial shelving and storage equipment for our back stock. -Groceries for the Homies, so we have a safety net and know we can afford to stock our tables as we expand our reach. -General operating costs like print services, ongoing bulk orders, wholesale store membership fees, maintenance for the cargo bikes we use for distribution etc... Having this safety net will ensure that we aren’t scrambling for funds every time something comes up. To read more about Homies and our founding you can read this great write up by Siani Colon with PIVEDITE: https://pivedite.org/mutual-aid-project-provides-community-connection-and-resources-in-point-breeze/ To read our full mission statement check out this post on our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDWZbB_hsF4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link With love and thanks, Elliott, Kev, Ant and the Homies ***donations to this campaign are not tax deductible