We loved this picture and had to share it with the world. Sherry Kinlaw, our beloved Board of Directors Treasurer, sent us a surprise delivery of delicious cupcakes a Friday morning a couple weeks ago. Our volunteers and members made quick work of them — thanks, Sherry!

We host “CEF Coffee Hour” every Friday at the Community Empowerment Fund’s office on Franklin Street. Join us some Friday! We don’t always have cupcakes, but we do always have good cheer, plenty of coffee and bagels, and great company.

See you on Fridays!

Tommy and Rufus, two CEF Members, helping their fellow member move her furniture into her *new* apartment

When a CEF Member had to move out of her old apartment and into her new home last week, her fellow CEF Members were the first people there to offer a hand and help.

For all of us, the best part about being involved in CEF is the family. For Equashia’s big move, her CEF Advocate (the wonderful Kemper) recruited her college roommate to come and help, and Tommy and Rufus (see pictures!) helped Equashia move all her furniture and boxes in, and got it all done in just an afternoon. Thank you, Tommy, Rufus, Kemper and Sarah!

In gratitude, Equashia is organizing a clean-up day at Tommy’s this coming Saturday, March 10th. She is recruiting fellow members to come help Tommy clean up and settle in to his new place. If you are interested, please contact info@communityempowermentfund.org — Equashia and her fellow CEF Alumni would love to have your support.

Unloading the moving truck

Equashia (CEF Member), Kemper (her CEF Advocate), and Sarah (Kemper's roommate who came to help!)

Thank you Stewards Fund!

The Stewards Fund challenge begins today!

Donate between March 1st and June 1st, and your donation will be doubled.

Act now, and your $25 donation becomes $50, your $100 gift becomes $200, your $250 contribution becomes $500… doubling your gift for twice the impact in our community.

Why donate to the Community Empowerment Fund? Because you provide one-on-one and ongoing support to unemployed and under-employed individuals, and help low-resource micro-entrepreneurs start and sustain businesses. You bring a unique community of college students and community members together, working alongside each other towards each individual’s financial freedom and well-being.

See the stories of transformation your support makes possible. Meet Maria. Meet Gary.

Join the movement, and help us reach our challenge of raising $10,000 before June 1st. Together, we can get meet the challenge. Thank you for your partnership.

John Miller recently came into our office to work on his resume, cover letter and job-searching with us. He sent us a thank-you note after his visit that was just too good not to share! We are so grateful to have had John come in to the office and we hope to have a continuing relationship with him. Thanks for your kind words, John!

“Hi.

I know you felt that what you were doing was just a part of that
organization’s mission, but still I am very grateful for the
assistance. I could of course have gotten Services for the Blind to
help, and if I continue to require further aid I will solicit and make
use of their resources. But the bureaucracy would not have moved
quickly enough to respond to that immediate opportunity, and I don’t
really know if I would have gotten that kind of thorough vetting of my
resume from a team of people. I extend my thanks to all of the
individuals who contributed some form of suggestion as to how that
document could be enhanced, actually.
I have placed the resume and cover letter in the person’s box who
agreed to forward it on, and now I await the determination of whether
I can proceed with preparing to do this job. I will of course keep you
updated as to what happens.
Thanks again for the time and effort put into that. I really don’t
take it for granted.

Sincerely,
John”

The Community Empowerment Fund will be one of three nationwide host organizations for “Lend for America,” a new summer internship program for college students to start microfinance organizations in campus communities.

You’ll spend your summer at Lend for America working with real people, real businesses, and real money. You’ll get to meet entrepreneurs, review loans, and see how microenterprise works in the U.S. You’ll be working with people who’ve chosen careers with a conscience.