Our vision at United Way of Jackson County is creating positive community change. Our mission is to mobilize caring to affect change. I know we’re delivering on the promise right now. We pride ourselves on being agile and responsive and with the COVID19 emergency relief fund, we’ve done just that.
As of yesterday, May 19, 2020, we have raised more than $360,000 and we’ve expensed $263,973 already! This has gone to help 720 families and 37 nonprofits. Yesterday, we helped a family of 7. Four of the 7 had jobs but all are laid off and 3 are still in school. The family is frightened. Some of the unemployment has started but not all of it yet. And as I recapped the expenses we’ve paid for people, yesterday I was struck by the full circle of life.
We’ve helped with housing, utilities, childcare, mental health, transportation, and lots of other things that are expenses in our daily lives. We also purchased a crib for a baby born a month early and the family wasn’t ready or able to afford a crib. And we’ve paid for the cremation of a young woman’s father. Losing one’s dad is hard and when you can’t afford those expenses it seems harder to me. It took three agencies to help their family and we all did. Thank you Reclaiming Lives and Teresa McCormick Center.
I’ve been enjoying A View From My Window on Facebook each day. There are photos each day, sometimes several times a day, from people all over the world and the view out their window from their homes. There are a lot of local folks on the page which is how I heard about it. I hope that if photography takes you away, you check it out.
I hope you’re noticing what’s going on around you. As I drove in this morning, I watched as more and more people are stirring each day outside — driving, waiting for buses and waking up outside where they live.
The challenges we had going in are still the challenges we have as are in Phase 1 re-opening. And we have new challenges. More people than ever before need help. People who didn’t think they’d need help are needing help. Remember all those news stories about Americans with less than two months of savings…
We have the opportunity to come out of this pandemic and recover our community, our economy, our caring in new and innovative ways.
Let’s do that. #LiveUnited!
