Contact: Melissa Ford melissa@cfwabash.org
For Immediate Release
Date: 05/01/2020
Wabash County is Better Together
Now more than ever, Wabash County citizens are joining together in acts of kindness and support of one another in response to the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying recommendation to stay at home and practice social distancing. As a county, we have been diligently following the direction of our local leaders, keeping our total case count low, and have devised creative ways to communicate with and provide for one another to help maintain a sense of normalcy in our lives.
At the Community Foundation, we recognize that for many Wabash County individuals and families, maintaining a sense of normalcy has been seriously hindered due to the temporary or permanent loss of employment or the loss of childcare supervision for parents who cannot stay home. For these reasons, we have created the COVID-19 Assistance Program* and have awarded nearly $9,000 in grants to help pay the rent, utility, medical (including mental health), and childcare supervision expenses of Wabash County citizens. The financial assistance we are able to provide in support of our county’s residents would not be possible without our partnership with Reach in North Manchester, the Wabash Area Ministerial Association (WAMA), and our County trustees who communicate with applicants and then recommend their applications to the Community Foundation for a grant.
The COVID-19 Assistance program would also not have been possible without the support of our donors who have contributed over $100,000 to support the Foundation’s COVID-19 Assistance Program. As well, we remember with profound gratitude the many Wabash County citizens who have contributed over the years to the Foundation’s Good Deeds Endowments. It is their unrestricted endowed gifts that created the resource to fund this and other programs aimed at addressing the urgent needs of our citizens at this difficult time. Thanks to all who support our work and give so generously
Next, we recognize it is not just the lives of individuals in our community that have needed to change, so too, have the daily operations of our community’s nonprofits. In response to the needs of our county’s nonprofits, the Community Foundation has granted a total of $29,500 thus far to five organizations. The five nonprofits include (1) Second Harvest to increase inventory for Wabash County’s food pantries, (2) the Roann Public Library to purchase an additional computer and continue providing free WIFI for students on their eLearning days, (3) Advantage Housing to help finalize construction on an emergency housing facility on Hill Street in Wabash, (4) Living Well for food assistance, and (5) Wabash First United Methodist church to assist with a meal ministry in the neighborhood. We are truly inspired by the work of these nonprofits and their dedication to continue to provide for their constituents during this challenging time.
Finally, we would like to highlight Visit Wabash County’s #BetterTogether campaign, in which all proceeds from the sale of #BetterTogether t-shirts will provide support to our county’s local businesses and the COVID-19 Assistance Program. To show your support and join the #BetterTogether campaign, go to www.visitwabashcounty.com to purchase a t-shirt and support Wabash County.
Once again, we are so encouraged and humbled by the actions our community has taken to slow the spread, follow the recommendations of our local leaders, and provide positivity and support to one another. Let us continue these actions as a community to keep Wabash County safe and optimistic until this pandemic has passed. Let us be #BetterTogether.
*To read more about the COVID-19 Assistance Program and eligibility, visit www.cfwabash.org or call (260) 982-4824.
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The Community Foundation of Wabash County is a nonprofit public charity established in 1954. It serves the citizens of Wabash County by implementing their charitable aspirations, making grants, investing and safeguarding charitable assets, providing information regarding charitable endeavors, convening citizens, and linking resources to address issues confronting our shared lives. The Foundation is located at 105 West Second Street, Suite 100, North Manchester, Indiana. Visit us at www.cfwabash.org and like us on Facebook.