BANK OF AMERICA HELPS SUSTAIN ORGANIZATION’S SENIOR FOOD PROGRAM

Jahmal Cole, founder of My Block My Hood My City, with a community member. Cole and the organization have been providing food for seniors through its Senior Food Program. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MY BLOCK MY HOOD MY CITY.
Jahmal Cole, founder of My Block My Hood My City, with a community member. Cole and the organization have been providing food for seniors through its Senior Food Program. PHOTO PROVIDED BY MY BLOCK MY HOOD MY CITY.

Bank of America helps sustain organization’s senior food program

By TIA CAROL JONES

Because the needs of communities change from year to year, Cole has learned to adapt as things happen. He enjoys keeping his ear to the streets and learning how to help people. When the Walmart closed in Chatham, Cole and My Block My Hood My City were there to provide food for people who were now without a community grocery store.

“When the Walmart pulled out of the community we just deployed the same strategy. We wanted to highlight the issue, it’s not
fair that corporations are just pulling out of communities
and the bottom line is more important than community health.
There’s already no healthy eating options, there’s already no mental health clinics, there’s already no counselors and now
they’re pulling out,” he said, adding that the organization
distributed thousands of meals in front of Walmart after it closed.

Each week, 50 to 100 meals are distributed to seniors as part of the organization’s Senior Food Program. Every Thursday morning, there is a team of staff and volunteers from My Block My Hood My City that go to Top Box Foods, get food and deliver food to about 50-75 addresses of seniors. Bank of America financially supported Cole and My Block My Hood My City’s endeavors, so they can
continue the project throughout the year.

“They recognize that it’s not just enough to help to give out food one time a month at Walmart, but we want to make it sustainable. So, I think Bank of America has a commitment to the community by investing in a program that is sustainable. Every week, we get involved directly with seniors,” Cole said.

Cole said Bank of America was willing to listen and were willing to support My Block My Hood My City’s efforts to provide food for 100 seniors every week. Cole said those are the kinds of partnerships My Block My Hood My City wants, and those are the kind of partnerships that are really needed between nonprofits and corporations. Cole added, long lasting partnerships are better than those where corporations pop in and pop out.

Cole lives in Chatham. He learned a lot from the seniors in the
community. He learned how to be a better person, how to be better
organizer and how to be a better Black man.

“When there’s issues that are happening, like a snowstorm, I
can’t let the seniors on my block or my community, be the last to get help. You can’t wait for the government to step in, you have to do it right away. I’m about rapidly responding to things, rapidly
responding to the needs of the community,” he said, adding that once he was able to get sustainable funding for his nonprofit, he made helping support seniors one of the organization’s initiatives.

For more information about My Block My Hood My City, visit www.formyblock.org.

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