About Us
Our Roots
The mission of Marley’s Helping Hand is deeply personal to our Founder Donnice Jackson, rooted in a lifetime of lessons learned from remarkable women in her life.
Growing up with a single mother who pursued her education while working multiple jobs to provide for her family, Donnice witnessed firsthand the challenges of managing life’s hurdles. Her mother’s determination and resilience greatly influenced the desire to offer support and relief to those facing similar struggles. From a young age, the act of giving and the power of prayer were instilled as key values of a well-led life, underscoring the importance of our mission to extend a helping hand to those in need.
“I fondly remember assisting Kendra Williams, a woman I knew as my grandmother, in preparing and distributing grocery baskets to families in our community. Nana Blanche, with her unwavering faith and community service, and Aunt Talitha, whose boundless compassion and kindness were exemplary, have all shaped my understanding of charity. These experiences have not only inspired me to help others but also to pass on the values of love, kindness, and community support to my daughter, Marley.” — Founder Donnice Jackson
Through all this, the seed for starting a nonprofit was planted early in Donnice’s life, nurtured by extensive involvement in charitable activities across various continents.
In 2023, Donnice, alongside a dedicated group of Speech-Language Pathologists, organized an event that supported approximately 52 families with essential household goods and groceries. This event was a pivotal moment, solidifying the course to founding Marley’s Helping Hand officially as a nonprofit. We established our 501(c)(3) status that very year.
Our Mission
To offer tangible support to underprivileged individuals by providing essential goods and services, including food, clothing, and everyday necessities, at no cost. Our goal is to alleviate the immediate pressures of daily life for those we serve, enabling them to focus on long-term personal and community development.
Our Vision
To cultivate hunger-free communities where individuals have the support and resources to pursue a better future. Through our efforts, we aim to transform areas of need into bastions of hope, self-sufficiency, and wellness, enabling residents to achieve educational advancement, job skills expansion, and improved health outcomes.
The Power of Basic Needs
In order to thrive in a modern society, it’s essential that basic needs are met. Yet, we are far from ensuring this happens for the majority of the population, and pockets of poverty scatter the United States.
The Bronx, NY, is among the most food insecure regions in the country. A New York state report highlighted that nearly 40% of Bronx adults were concerned about having enough money to buy nutritious meals in the past year, marking the highest percentage among the five boroughs of New York City. Comparatively, only 12.8% of households were food insecure across the nation.
Struggling to afford food impacts the human experience in a variety of ways:
- Poor physical health: Food insecurity often goes alongside lack of access to healthy, nutritious options. More affordable food is often less nutritious, or the person’s overall diet is not able to include all necessary nutrients.
- Choosing between basic needs: People facing food insecurity are likely financially insecure overall, meaning they struggle to afford other basic needs. There may often be a choice between paying rent or buying groceries – an impossible choice to make.
- Poor mental health: People facing food insecurity also face a 257% higher risk of anxiety and 253% higher risk of depression, according to a CDC study.
Food insecurity is particularly concerning in households with children, where the lack of nutrition can have irreversible consequences on the child’s development.
Another challenge that contributes to food insecurity, beyond poverty levels, is the accessibility of food. The Bronx has been described as a “food desert,” with a lack of outlets to buy healthy options. Public Health Solutions has been actively addressing food insecurity and nutrition in the Bronx through innovative programs, yet the problem is far from solved.
These statistics underline the critical need for continued support and innovative solutions to combat food insecurity in the Bronx.