San Pedro, CA, September, 14, 2020. When COVID-19 hit, many of the under-resourced youth Sharefest serves were forced home with inadequate internet access, outdated or no technology, and limited access to healthy food. Over 88% of the youth Sharefest serve qualify for free lunch. In addition to their challenging environments, youth were scared, unsure about their future, and worried their dreams may be put on hold indefinitely. At the same time Sharefest had to reckon with significant budget cuts as sponsors and donors had to reduce or cancel their commitments to fund their work. 

“When we looked at the bottom line we knew 2 things,” says Executive Director, Chad Mayer, “We knew we were going to have to make significant cuts and we also knew we could not slow down or give up on these amazing youth.” Sharefest cut as much as they could but still worried they wouldn’t be able to keep their staff of instructors and mentors who are essential pieces of youth’s support systems.

Southern California’s largest and leading on-demand delivery network, Postmates, approached Sharefest to see if they could help fill any gaps. After learning of the work Sharefest does and seeing the impact they make on local youth and communities, Postmates donated resources to connect youth, neighbors, and community members to meals, medical supplies, pharmacies, and other essential technologies to invest in economic mobility and growth amidst a pandemic. Postmates mission is to, “enable anyone to have anything delivered on demand” and their donation builds on a commitment in the South Bay to safely and reliably support local restaurants, workers, and the economy. 

With the gift, Sharefest has been able to deliver virtual mental health support and mentorship, meals for families, and technology to students who needed it most. Additionally, the Sharefest team was able to retain all of their instructors and program staff and watch 85 continuation high school students achieve their dream of high school graduation… the largest graduating class Sharefest has ever had!  Sharefest also celebrated as students earned 2,125 credits toward graduation. Many of these continuation high school students are the first in their families to graduate from high school. Others overcame insurmountable odds, like being in the foster care system, to achieve their dreams.

“Amidst COVID-19, Postmates has safely connected families and neighborhoods to meals, medical supplies, much needed earning opportunities, and essential services. As a rising generation of students and young community members are challenged by new remote learning environments and an even tougher economy, Postmates is honored to stand with Sharefest to connect students to the technologies and resources required to meet the moment.” said Vikrum Aiye, Vice President of Public Policy and Strategic Communications  for Postmates. “We will continue to build the solutions that will put our communities on a path towards resilience and recovery.” 

Sharefest believes nonprofits build a bridge between vulnerable communities and needed resources. Businesses like Postmates are the vehicle to make the delivery of those resources a reality.

About Sharefest:  

Sharefest exists to empower underserved youth to transform their futures and become leaders of collaborative community change. Sharefest programming helps keep students enrolled in school through graduation, achieve significant increases in their GPA and develop social skills that help them reach college or career goals. In 2020 alone Sharefest served 408 youth, their continuation high school students increased their GPAs by an average of 28%, and 248 Sharefest students earned credits toward graduation. 

About Postmates:  Postmates helps people unlock the best of their cities – and their lives, with an insanely reliable on-demand “anything” network. Launched in 2011, Postmates pioneered the on-demand delivery movement in the US by offering delivery from restaurants and stores previously only available offline. The company now operates in 4,200 US cities and provides access to over 600,000 merchants. Amidst Covid-19 Postmates has worked tirelessly to support a nationwide community of independent businesses, restaurants, and merchants — all while connecting communities and essential delivery workers to the resources they need to stay health and resilience amidst a pandemic. Learn more here.