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The Greater Toledo Community Foundation created a fund to
support northwest Ohio and southeastern Michigan nonprofits
and last week announced the first round of grantees that
received $51,508 collectively.
Seven nonprofits will either begin or continue to provide
immediate relief to residents that are impacted by the novel
coronavirus.
Adelante Inc. will provide access to basic need items that
include food, personal hygiene items, or cleaning supplies
to the community. Children’s Hunger Alliance will provide
shelf stable food supplies to children at specific Toledo
locations that do not overlap with current Toledo Public
School distribution locations.
Home Non-profit Housing Corp. will receive funds to cover
their increased staff costs related to the 13
developmentally disabled adult residents that they serve.
Salvation Army received funds to cover the increase of basic
needs for the food pantry, rental assistance and utility
assistance.
The Mareda Center will provide basic need items and cleaning
supplies to 50 low-income families. Toledo Lucas County
Homelessness Board will coordinate and supply homeless
service providers with basic needs items that include
sanitizing supplies, meals, host costs for quarantine stays
and additional staff costs. Center of Hope Family Services
will provide basic need items like food and cleaning
supplies to youth and participants of their programs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges for this
community. Parents have been thrusted into the challenge of
becoming teachers, without the benefits of the training,
supports, and resources afforded to educators,” said Tracee
Perryman, PhD, CEO of Center of Hope Family Services, Inc.”
And even with all the resources, training, and
supports provided in our educational systems, we still need
more. And now parents are expected to fill in the gaps with
even less. Center of Hope Family Services has provided
educational enrichment, family engagement, and wrap around
services for 15 years to support local educational, social
welfare, and juvenile justice systems.
“We build bridges between these systems, children, and their
families. For example, every family doesn’t have access to
pick up the education packets provided by the schools or
even pick up meals at feeding sites. There are families that
may have access to free internet, thanks to Buckeye, but may
not have access to a laptop or tablet. Families may move, or
change phone numbers, and that information may not be
updated with the schools. We fill in those gaps by accessing
educational materials, preparing food baskets, and
delivering them to the families directly. We work with
schoolteachers and principals to access the appropriate
materials and assemble the packets if needed. The food
baskets we deliver are large-family, shelf-stable meals that
are designed to feed a larger family size over the weekend.
We are currently serving 50 families, but this could expand
to about 100 families. We have had calls from additional
schools who would like us to partner with their families, so
that they can access our resources. Our plan was to run this
program until May 1, but we are evaluating our timeline as
we receive guidance from our governor. The educational
resources are fully funded, but we will likely need
additional funding for food expenses, as the stay at home
order continues to be extended. We prefer monetary
contributions as we are already partnering with food service
providers to ensure adherence to social distancing
guidelines.”
According to the Community Foundation Public Awareness
Initiative, United States based community foundations in 49
states and the District of Columbia have mobilized $230,000
collectively since March 25 in response to the coronavirus
have are able to connect with donors and award funds
quickly.
The Greater Toledo Community Foundation plans to announce
additional grantees, as the next three founds of grant
recommendations are in the approval process. Nonprofits that
are experiencing coronavirus-related financial challenges or
are aiding the community are encouraged to visit the
Foundation website.
“Please join us by sharing this opportunity with those who
may not be in the position to give. Contributions of any
amount are appreciated,” explained Keith Burwell, Greater
Toledo Community Foundation president. “The Community
Foundation is pleased that we are able to immediately help
fill ‘the gap’ in funding for basic human needs of some of
the most vulnerable individuals in our community. We are
continuing to monitor the greatest unmet needs of residents
in our local communities and do what we can to help. The
Greater Toledo Community Foundation wants to empower these
nonprofits to meet the immediate needs in our community.
These were seven nonprofits that received funding, but this
is just the beginning. We urge the nonprofits to continue to
apply for funds.”
Links
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To connect with Center of Hope (SThompson@cohfs.org)
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To submit a COVID-19 grant application (https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon)
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To listen to an interview with Foundation staff about
COVID-19 grant application (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEn4pb9EFFs&feature=youtu.be)
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To review nonprofit related COVID-19 resources (https://www.c4npr.org/).
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To donate to COVID-19 Response Fund, (https://toledocf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list)
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