United Way Coordinates Essential Needs Aid in Westchester and Putnam
United Way volunteer makes delivery to homebound senior
In addition to running its 211 Helpline, which connects hundreds of people a day with organizations that are providing food, medical resources, child care or other essential needs during the pandemic, United Way of Westchester and Putnam has created a special fund through which it will award grants of up to $5,000 to not-for-profits that are aiding the most vulnerable. It is also holding food drives in Westchester and hard-hit Putnam County, where food banks have closed. So far it has delivered more than 40,000 pounds of food in addition to making home deliveries of food to seniors and immune-compromised citizens.
For more info, visit uwwp.org.
Hillside Food Outreach, which delivers healthy food to Westchester and Putnam residents who are homebound and have limited income, was one of the organizations that received a grant.
“We are so thankful for the grant from the United Way of Westchester and Putnam. It will be a tremendous help, as our emergency food distribution has increased 1,200 percent since the crisis began,’’ says Hillside Food Outreach Executive Director Kathy Purdy.
One Westchester resident, a widowed, disabled senior with a compromised immune system, says she called 211 and United Way put her in contact with a nonprofit that delivered groceries to her apartment the next day.
“Oh my god, I had no idea that there was a program out there to help me get my food,” she says. “Thank you and everyone at 211 for finding it for me and connecting me to them. You are all angels.”
“As this health crisis continues to evolve, I keep reminding myself to manage life one day at a time and maintain my perspective on what is truly important,” says Tom Gabriel, president and CEO of United Way of Westchester and Putnam. “To me, it’s family, friends, colleagues and the privilege of helping others.”
For more info, visit uwwp.org.
