Once the public schools in North Chicago decided to close in mid-March because of COVID-19, it took Jennifer Grumhaus (MBA 1994) and her staff less than 72 hours to totally revamp the business model for the nonprofit she runs, North Chicago Community Partners (NCCP), which provides extended learning programs, food and other basic resources, and health services for more than 1,200 children each week in this underserved community.

“We had to rethink the operation of our food pantry. We had to develop learning materials that keep students engaged at home. We had to ensure children were fed—literally—and do all we could to help create safe home-based learning environments,” says Grumhaus, NCCP executive director and cofounder. “In the current situation, the trauma of living and learning in an under-resourced community is magnified.”

To support learning and help alleviate stress, boredom, and deprivation, NCCP is distributing about 500 learning resource kits and 300 emergency food bags to some 400 families each week. Considered an essential operation, NCCP is allowed to have its employees deliver these resources to families directly. The organization also relies on a corps of volunteers who pick up materials from NCCP’s office to assemble learning packets at home, then bring back the completed packets for the nonprofit to distribute to families. “We created a Volunteer from Home program that allows individuals to lend a hand during this crisis and remain connected to children who they tutor and mentor in ‘normal’ conditions,” Grumhaus explains.

The robust, hands-on learning assignments that NCCP delivers each week—two in English language arts, two in math, and one “special” activity —augment the district’s remote learning curriculum. NCCP also includes in its deliveries a number of healthy snacks for the children, and activities kits—comprising games, cards, and drawing materials—to encourage family interactions.

Because the North Chicago school community doesn’t have the financial resources found in Chicago’s affluent neighboring suburbs, online education isn’t a viable option for many students. “One outcome of the pandemic is a heightened awareness of school funding inequity,” Grumhaus says. While the school district is able to provide Chromebooks to students in grades 6-12 to help keep their studies on track, children in grades K-5 have to rely on more traditional educational materials since they don’t have access to the internet or computers.

Grumhaus says that while NCCP has managed to find ways to still support its constituencies, it has been difficult to maintain the close relationships that staffers and volunteers have formed with students. “The foundation of our work with students is relationship-based because they need social-emotional support,” she explains. “We also created the Community Connections Program, which is designed to keep us purposefully and thoughtfully connected to the students, parents, volunteers, partners, and teachers we serve.” This outreach includes wellness-check phone calls and handwritten letters aimed at students, parent resource packets, a virtual self-care program for teachers, and a virtual appreciation lunch program each month for staff members. 

Since launching NCCP with her cousin, Mary Gorter Krey, in 2008, the nonprofit has grown to a staff of 35, who work with 2,500 volunteers each year and 50 partner organizations. Before the pandemic, Grumhaus, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and founding team member of City Year in Chicago, was preparing to scale NCCP to other school districts in need.

“We have developed a unique model for providing whole child support. Components of our model are definitely transferrable to almost any public school district,” says Grumhaus about the nonprofit. Once the crisis has abated, she hopes to focus on making NCCP’s operating model available to other underserved communities. “The resources provided through NCCP help level the playing field and help ensure more children have equal access to opportunities. There are too many children learning in underfunded environments to not share what we’ve created.”

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