United Way of Northwest Georgia’s Update on COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund Distribution Round One

A Message from Joe Young, United Way Board Chair, and Amanda Burt, President

 

Although we aren’t meeting in person now, and business as usual is anything but usual, a lot is happening at United Way and with our community partners on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis. 

We want to share some quick updates and actions United Way has taken. 

 

Last week, our Board approved our first distribution of $10,000 from our Covid-19 Response and Recovery fund.

The agencies receiving these funds are incredibly thankful and appreciative for the additional emergency funding. 

As you may remember from our first letter, funds raised will supplement what we have already allocated for 2020 to our community partners on the front lines of this crisis reaching our most vulnerable populations. 

The first allocation of relief funds went to local partners, The Salvation Army, Carter Hope Center, Oakhaven, and the NWGA Family Crisis Center. 

These funds will provide food, toiletries, and rent and utility assistance to clients.

 

We have provided much needed toilet paper to our Meals on Wheels clients. 

Thanks to the Dossche Family and an additional donation through Gary Crews, United Way has provided protective masks to agencies on the front lines: Boehm Birth Defects Center, DEO Clinic, Looper Speech and Hearing Center, Boys and Girls Club, Carter Hope Center, The GreenHouse, Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army, and NWGA Family Crisis Center.

Two air purifiers were donated by Ron and Lisa Johnson to Carter Hope Center, and hand sanitizer was donated by Dalton Distillery for use at DEO Clinic and Meals on Wheels.

 

To highlight resources, we have added a home page on our website, ourunitedway.org, with easily accessible links. 

Resources are updated as new information becomes available and will soon be available in Spanish. 

We want information to be accessible to our whole community however they choose to get it - through our website, by calling our help line to speak to a bi-lingual information and referral specialist (706-CAN-HELP or 2-1-1- from a landline,) and through social media. 

Follow us on social media @unitedwaynwga and be an advocate by sharing our content with friends. Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know, www.ourunitedway.org/newsletter-signup.

 

We are gathering weekly updates from our community partners to assess needs and concerns. 

We anticipate more needs coming as the crisis continues to affect more people in our community. 

Given some of the needs we know exist and are growing each day, we will need more funds to aid the most vulnerable in our community.

To help, please visit our website, ourunitedway.org, and donate to our COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund.  Any donation is appreciated and will be put to use.

 

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

 

This article was featured in The Daily Citizen News on Friday, April 10, 2020.