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MENDOCINO Co., 4/20/20 — The Community Foundation of Mendocino County will be offering grants to Mendocino County residents as part of the organization’s efforts to provide economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic. The foundation has already dispersed grants to a number of community food banks around the county through its recently established COVID-19 Relief Fund, and will now be allocated $100,000 to help individuals struggling with the financial impacts of the pandemic.
The grants will be dispersed through three local non-profit organizations, and the Community Foundation is encouraging anyone who is able to support the COVID-19 Relief Fund. The organizations assisting include: “Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund will be serving residents from Elk to Westport; Mendonoma Health Alliance will be assisting South Coast residents; and North Coast Opportunities will help inland residents,” according to today’s announcement.
Here’s a statement from CEO Megan Barber Allende announcing the new grants:
| During this pandemic we are all being hit hard, but those most vulnerable are the individuals who live paycheck to paycheck, have lost income from their jobs, and especially those who are ineligible for stimulus checks or unemployment due to immigration status or because they don’t file tax returns due to their low annual income. We created the My day began with a call from a donor. Her stimulus check arrived in her bank account, and while she could use some of it, she knew there are others who needed it more. She asked me how she could donate her stimulus check to our new COVID-19 Relief Fund and directly help those in need. These are the calls that lift my spirits, neighbors looking out for neighbors. COVID-19 Relief Fund because there are families who need help now. They need immediate assistance to keep the lights on, gas in the car, food on the table, and a roof over their heads. This is why we are pleased to announce our newest grants from the COVID-19 Relief Fund during this crisis – those for individual assistance. We are granting $100,000 for immediate relief for individuals and families countywide. We are partnering with three non-profit organizations to ensure the most vulnerable residents in every Mendocino County community have access to assistance. Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund will be serving residents from Elk to Westport; Mendonoma Health Alliance will be assisting South Coast residents; and North Coast Opportunities will help inland residents. These organizations are our partners in ensuring these relief funds go directly to those most in need and if you know someone in desperate need due to this pandemic, please let them know where to go for help. These three organizations are among the many local non-profits that are working overtime to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors are taken care of. We encourage you to support all of our local non-profits. They are critical. If you would like to make a countywide impact towards basic needs of those who share your streets, your stores, and your community, please consider a contribution to the COVID-19 Relief Fund. We know $100,000 is a drop in the bucket and would like to be able to extend several more rounds of funding for food relief and individual assistance over the next few months. Our vision has always been to help Mendocino County thrive. We have been committed to this vision during good years and recessions. We will continue this commitment through the pandemic crisis and in the years to come while our community regains its footing. We know there will be more need than we can address as the waves of this crisis hit us. But we can meet this moment, the one that lies directly before us, with a spirit of generosity and care for our neighbors. –To learn more about The Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, visit us at: www.communityfound.org/covid19 |
