Jefferson Regional Foundation Awards COVID-19 Emergency Fund Grants

The Jefferson Regional Foundation has awarded $341,000 from its Jefferson COVID-19 Emergency Fund in 11 initial grants and is now opening the fund applications to the 96 member organizations of the Jefferson Community Collaborative.

The fund was created by the foundation board to address critical and strategic aspects of community health and wellness the virus has and will continue to impact.

Nonprofit organizations can receive awards related to fund priorities, which include equipment and supplies for essential services, access to food, impacts on essential services for families, communities of color and/or low income experiencing particular effects of the virus, services to residents without health insurance, or residents with language and hearing access limitations. The short-term emergency grants range from $5,000 to $35,000.

The fund was first opened to a group of key organizations serving the South Hills-Lower Mon Valley area whose services match the priority areas. Grants awarded in the initial round are:

• 412 Food Rescue, $35,000 for food distribution at homes, bus stops and to partners;
• AHN/Jefferson Hospital, $35,000 for critical preventive and protective equipment for staff;
• Beverly’s Birthdays, $25,000 for its partnership with Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank to distribute infant crisis kits;
• Bhutanese Community Association, $35,000 for laptops, grocery cards and senior chats;
• Blood Science Foundation/Vitalant, $35,000 for donor campaign and site COVID-19 updates;
• Cribs for Kids, $24,000 for new model of cribs & safe sleep supplies direct to family homes;
• Economic Development South, $35,000 for food deliveries to homebound Clairton residents;
• Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, $35,000 to fund local partnerships for food delivery in Jefferson area;
• Squirrel Hill Health Center-$35,000 to support shifts to telemedicine, telecounseling and check-ins;
• Turtle Creek Valley, $35,000 to fund technology for onsite staff support and training;
• Veterans Breakfast Club, $35,000 for equipment and technology to shift to virtual meetings.

The Jefferson Community Collaborative is a 96-member network of community-serving organizations committed as change-makers to positively impact the health and vitality of communities south of Pittsburgh through serving as an incubator for promising ideas, improving the capacity of its organizations and facilitating group action on community aspirations.

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