Turpin Cares, a Beverly/Morgan Park-based not-for-profit organization that that distributes emergency food, hygiene products, and relief items to people in need, was awarded a $1,000 Neighborhood Grant from The Starbucks Foundation.
The Neighborhood Grant recognizes the impact Turpin Cares makes in assisting at-risk individuals and families in the Beverly/Morgan Park area. The award is thanks to a nomination from the Olive Rogers, a Turpin Cares founder and an employee at the Starbucks at 103rd and Longwood Drive. The two organizations share a long history of partnering during the month of December to collect food and hygiene items for at-risk families.
Through its unique grant program, The Starbucks Foundation invites Starbucks partners or employees to nominate an organization doing good in their community. Since 2019, more than 6,000 grants have been awarded to organizations, amounting to more than $10 million.
The Neighborhood Grant will support Turpin Cares’ programs to help individuals and families who are without homes or struggle to cover the costs of essential food, hygiene, and housekeeping items. Turpin Cares provides starter kits for people transitioning from shelters into their own homes, gives care packages to people living without homes, and stocks pantry boxes with shelf-stable and ready-to-eat foods so people suffering from food insecurity have easy – and anonymous — access to nutritious food.
The organization, in partnership with the Beverly Area Planning Association (BAPA), also operates a twice-a-month Free Store that distributes essential products for personal hygiene, household cleaning, and basic first aid. The Free Store has given out over 65,000 items, supporting nearly 3,500 households since it opened in spring of 2020, and continues to serve an average of 75 families at each distribution, many of them first-time clients.
“It’s clear that the Free Store we opened in response to the pandemic and hoped would only be open for a few months needs to remain open for neighbors who depend on us,” said Dale Ludwig, Turpin Cares President. “We are grateful for the grant from The Starbucks Foundation, which will help supply the Free Store for fall distributions.”
Free Store distributions are held on the first and third Wednesday of the month, 3 to 4:30 p.m., at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, 2017 W. 110th Pl., Chicago.
The Starbucks Foundation’s Neighborhood Grants program supports grassroots, community-led nonprofit organizations through catalytic investments in the form of grants. Neighborhood Grants also help build sustained local impact and inspire increased partner (employee) engagement with nonprofit organizations that work in their communities. Learn more stories.starbucks.com.
For more information about Turpin Cares and its initiatives, email turpincares@gmail.com.
