Over the years, The Box Project has expanded to offer a wider range of programs to help empower self-sufficiency-providing assistance for the myriad problems our members face, in a dignified and respectful way.
Our recipients are screened and referred to us through various referral agencies in the rural areas that we serve. To qualify they must live in a county designated as "rural" or "agricultural" by the USDA and they must earn less than 150% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Matching Programs:
Family Match - This program creates a long-term match between a sponsor and recipient. The sponsors provide encouragement, advice, and boxes of needed supplies about once a month.
Holiday Match - This program creates a short-term match for just one winter holiday season. Sponsors or sponsor groups provide gifts, food, or supplies to make the holiday season extra-special for a recipient family or a Community Center. Applications for the Holiday Match program are taken from September 1 to October 31.
Center Match - This program creates a long-term match between a sponsor or sponsor group and a community center in one of the rural areas that we serve.
Education Initiatives:
Education is one of the core values of The Box Project. We firmly believe that education is the key to increasing self-sufficiency and breaking the cycle of poverty. Our steadfast commitment is to continue working to remove barriers to education wherever we can and make a significant effort to encourage and support education for our recipient families in the areas we serve.
Back-to-School Fund - Our Back-to-School fund is for approved recipient families who have not yet been assigned a sponsor. This fund provides for school supplies or uniforms to help ensure students can be ready and able to start school on the first day of classes. We know that sometimes students have no way to get school clothes or supplies and that sometimes prevents them from starting school with their classmates. To make a special contribution to the Back-to-School fund, please indicate your request in the comments area of our online donation form.
Other Programs:
Disaster Response - The Box Project is not positioned to be an emergency responder, we ARE positioned to be there for the long term--long after emergency responders have left and headlines have driven national interest in another direction. Your direct financial response to The Box Project when disasters strike our recipient areas will enhance our ability to respond to increased demand or special needs. You may be able to help in these ways:
- Current recipient families already in our program that will have greater needs and require more resources. Existing sponsors will be called upon to help their recipient families find resources to meet their needs and help family and friends that may now be living with them. They are going to need extra help from us.
- Even more families could be plunged into poverty. The already struggling economy of the affected area will be further compromised, and families that were self-sufficient before the storm, may need personalized short term help to regain that self-sufficiency.
- Small local helping organizations that have always been there for local people will be strained to their limits. They may not be the recipients of large government funding, though they may make a significant difference in disasters. They could use our help for the long term.
When a disaster occurs in one of The Box Project’s areas of service, please look for a direct link on this website telling you the ways we’re helping and what we need from you.
Visit our Donation or What You Can Do pages for more information about these programs or for other ways you can join us in our quest to make a difference - one family at a time.
