A Message from Joe Young, United Way Board Chair, and Amanda Burt, President
We hope you and your family are doing well and navigating the changes we are all experiencing related to Covid-19. As we continue to navigate the crisis in our own community that has gone on much longer than any of us could imagine, we wanted to provide another update to you on the work of United Way through our Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund. We are here – serving our community – when you need us most.
Since our last update in May on how we are using our Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund donations, we have awarded an additional $53,000 to help our friends and neighbors dealing with this crisis. We have partnered with The Salvation Army for additional rent and utility assistance for clients experiencing financial stress. We are getting books into the hands of our children at Power Lunches each Friday in partnership with Whitfield County Schools at the summer lunch sites. Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, we have been able to bring additional mental health services to Family Support Council, Carter Hope Center, and the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center whose clients are experiencing untold additional stress. We are supporting our day services for children and youth with additional funds to purchase supplies and prepare for the safe return of more children as schools and businesses reopen. Many working families rely on the services of Friendship House, Whitfield Dalton Day Care, and Boys and Girls Club so they can work to support their families.
To date, we have invested an additional $71,000 beyond our regular community investments, and we plan to do more as the crisis continues. These funds provided aid in dispersing food, toiletries, and rent and utility assistance to clients. In addition, we have received generous donations of protective masks, hand sanitizer, and air purifiers, which we have put into the hands of our community partners who needed these basic protective items to continue serving their clients. We also purchased toilet paper to distribute to our elderly through Meals on Wheels. We invested in additional bilingual technology enhancements to continue to provide the most current information to our community.
In closing, as we enter the dog days of summer and look ahead to a future with many unknowns, please know this. You can count on United Way. United Way of Northwest Georgia and our Community Partners stand ready to serve. We are a strong, vibrant, and diverse community. We are a community that steps up to help our neighbors in times of need – by lending a hand, by giving of our financial resources to someone with a need greater than our own, and by doing whatever it takes to ensure our community thrives.
Please visit our website, ourunitedway.org, to learn more. We are all in this fight together, and together, we will win. Stay well, and stay tuned for more information.
Live United,
Joe Young, Board Chair Amanda Burt, President