Dear Foundation Friends,
Are you finding a rhythm for your days? My day begins with three dogs, running shoes and a headlamp. The morning is a simple sliver of light in the darkness. With sunrise, the world widens and awakens. This ritual gives me perspective. You give me purpose.
I like to think that the grant requests coming in daily are also slivers of light that, when linked, shine on our whole community. The Community Foundation’s Community Emergency Response Fund, with your help, provided for a wide variety of needs this week. I’ll tell you about some of them.
We granted funding to Teton Youth and Family Services to purchase personal protective equipment for their staff, and for youth who are quarantined under protection of TYFS. The grant also covers childcare costs for their staff, as they counsel youth and families experiencing acute mental health issues.
We know of at least 30 community members who are living in their cars during this crisis. They deserve hot showers in a clean, frequently sanitized facility. The Community Emergency Response Fund granted support to the Teton County Recreation Center to temporarily reconfigure their locker rooms to accommodate, and staff to clean the facility.
Quarantine Cuisine, a group effort by Cynthia Hogan, Fine Dining Restaurant Group, Jackson Whole Grocer, and Hole Food Rescue will provide hot meals and/or groceries to individuals and families that are medically quarantined. Those quarantined pay what they can afford, and groceries and meals ordered online are delivered to them. Our Emergency Response Fund provided seed funding to help launch this effort.
Since launching in mid-March, the Emergency Response Fund has granted a total of more than $1 million dollars across 16 local organizations. Relief funds are being disbursed daily to nonprofits, as the Community Foundation receives requests for assistance.There are many more stories, and if you’d like to hear them, please connect with us. Your support has never been more necessary to helping our whole community.
I hope you are finding your way through these days with simple pleasures. Let me know if you need to borrow a headlamp. Stay healthy.
Warm regards,
Laurie Andrews
President, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole
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