There is a lot of money out there to offer financial assistance to those having difficulties because of the COVID-19 virus, but most of it has yet to make it to the people in need.
The same cannot be said about money from the Greensboro Virus Relief Task Force, a joint effort of the United Way of Greensboro and the City of Greensboro, which last week announced it had already awarded over $457,000 to area nonprofits to help people effected by the coronavirus.
The money came from the Greensboro Virus Relief Fund, which was created by the United Way at the request of Greensboro and has been funded with over $735,000. The bulk of that is $500,000 from the United Way emergency fund and $108,000 from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. The remainder is in donations.
According to the press release the priority areas for funding are:
“• Food insecurities, such as homebound seniors and families with children
- Education interruptions, such as children in early Head-Start through post secondary
- Employment reductions, such as reduced hours, layoffs and furlough
- Housing vulnerabilities, such as rental assistance and shelters for homeless
- Medical access, such as transportation or those in need of homebound supports
- Business disruption, such as resources for the small business community”
The taskforce is reviewing and approving funding applications on a weekly basis and the nonprofit organizations who have received funding include Guilford Child Development, BackPack Beginnings, Christ United Methodist Church, One Step Further, Jalloh’s Upright Services of NC, Faith Action International, Nehemiah Community Empowerment Center, Greensboro Urban Ministry, YWCA, Servant Center, Salvation Army of Greensboro, IRC, YMCA, Creative Aging, Arts Greensboro and Adult Center for Enrichment.
Assistant City Manager Larry Davis said, “Once again the Greensboro community has proven we have the capacity to care for one another. Collaborating with United Way has been a win-win scenario. As co-chair of the Virus Relief Taskforce, it has been encouraging to see how quickly these resources have been identified and distributed to agencies offering essential services in this critical time.”
