Two Worcester teens help end food insecurity for children and families

When the world plunged into utter chaos known as 2020, most people sat down and did nothing. In all of this extra time, many turned to dusting off Netflix shows, sourdough starters, and books that had been sitting on their shelves for months.

But it wasn’t for everyone. The strain of the pandemic on food-insecure families weighed heavily on the minds of his two teenagers in Worcester. Camden Francis and Colton Francis, when she was 16 and her 12, founded Beyond the Crisis, a nonprofit that provides food to several communities in the Boston and Worcester areas that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Did.

Through their tireless work, they have partnered with local food banks, grocers and others to help get food into the hands of families in need.18-year-old Camden Francis joins all things considered Host Arun Rath discusses how ‘Beyond the Crisis’ came about. Below is a lightly edited transcript.

Arun Lass: Are you here to represent your brother Colton, who was 12 when he founded Beyond The Crisis?

Camden Francis: He was 12 when we started this organization together. Since then it’s been like a roller coaster ride. It’s so great to be doing this with his brother.

Russ: Did you have any urges for any reason when the pandemic was going on? How did you come together?

Francis: So we sat and watched the news coverage of what was going on with the pandemic. We knew we weren’t going to create a cure or find a vaccine, but we knew there was something we could do.

Taking small steps and taking small initiatives can really help our community over time. This organization was like a light bulb. She was an idea, but with the right hands and surrounding her community in the right way, he was able to shape and transform this into a transformative organization. It has helped many families in our area.

Russ: Tell us about your early days. How did you actually get it up and running? And did you balance that with going to school during the pandemic?

Francis: Yeah, in the early days it was quite a learning experience. It was definitely a grind at first because there was so much going on. Establishing a non-profit organization requires a number of qualifications and qualifications. At first, people didn’t take us very seriously. I was a little frustrated because I was sending emails, but they kept coming back. Initially he sent over 1,000 emails, but only 3-4 of them actually worked in the organization’s favour.

But it really taught us how to have patience and guts. I am very optimistic.The ability to help individuals has been a truly wonderful experience.

Russ: The way you kept it is great. Was there a point where you realized, “We can actually do this, we’re going to break through and make a difference”?

Francis: One of the key points was my mentor, Kathleen Walsh, president and CEO of the Metro North YMCA. She helped us out, gave us a lot of knowledge and insight, and helped us avoid the pitfalls that many smaller organizations fall into. If you don’t have one, it’s imperative that you don’t make certain mistakes or find certain harmful pitfalls.

But with her help and insight, and her experience, we have definitely advanced our knowledge of nonprofits and charities and grown at a faster rate, which was a turning point for our organization. The organization has a positive path forward, which has turned from an idea and a lot of research into something that is actually coming together. This is a very exciting point for many founders.

---

“We knew we weren’t going to create a cure or find a vaccine, but we knew we could do something.”

Camden Francis

Russ: Tell us about the other elements that worked together to make this happen.

Francis: What helped make this a success was our appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. Thanks to Drew Barrymore, I have created a platform that inspires so many teenagers my age. It really helped me get donations and such.

Another thing we do is spend a lot of time collaborating with universities. From there you can get a large volunteer database and many interns. And what we want to do would not have been possible without the help of the community. Camden and Colton weren’t the only ones who founded Beyond the Crisis, but there were many people involved and many who gave their time and resources to help others. And that’s why we do it.

But we are also part of the Unite Massachusetts Network. The Unite Massachusetts Network is a number of affiliates such as organizations and universities, as well as large organizations such as the United Way. Through them we constantly draw resources and ideas. We also work and have meetings. We were recently invited to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Through the conference, we work with governors and members of the House of Representatives, including our largest donor to date, Jim McGovern. So many people are involved in our organization.

I also work with influencers like Lady Gaga. She has her own organization called Born This Way Foundation. Through her organization, she has referred us to numerous issues on her Channel of Kindness platform.

How did Beyond the Crisis come to work? How can it be marketed as something that other people can boost? If no one wants to get involved, start an organization or something because it’s really hard.

Russ: Please tell us about your growth after gaining a foothold in two and a half years.

Francis: Currently, we are working with Catholic charities in Boston and the Beacon Community of Worcester to expand our local communities to help more housing communities and homeless shelters in Boston and Worcester. And while we do a lot of work in different areas, we’re still expanding organically and really making sure it’s manageable, as my brother and I are. I’m here. high school year. So we want to establish Beyond the Crisis and try to grow at a manageable rate.