COVID emergency fund still needs your help with new community challenges

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Recovery Fund committee is issuing a reminder that funds are still needed, and help is still available for those in need.

When the world shut down in March 2020, the Rhode Island community came together, as it always does in a crisis, to prioritize an immediate response that would help ensure easy access to funds for those in our community in need.

Together, the community raised over $260,000 to support community members and organizations impacted by the pandemic. A committee of volunteers worked with Alliance staff to support congregants seeking housing and utility assistance; unaffiliated community members in need of medical care or help with funeral expenses; day-school families hoping to maintain some semblance of childhood; food-pantry recipients in need of more than groceries; and others who touch our local Jewish community in a range of ways.

Agencies and institutions were given the support needed to reopen safely and continue to build the community connections at the core of each organization’s mission. They were supplied with plexiglass and other safety upgrades, proper face masks, outdoor tents, sanitizer and sanitizing wands. They were given the equipment and support necessary to run online programming and services so people-to-people connections were never lost.

Today, we  at the Alliance continue to see needs and requests, but they have shifted. These days, some in the Rhode Island Jewish community need help to meet the costs of inflation; to pay their increased electric and heating bills; to try to offset the loss in learning that students have faced; and to fill shopping carts with fresh, healthy food.

The relief and recovery committee continues to meet regularly to ensure that families have what they need to live with dignity – and to understand that accepting support of any kind is a mitzvah.

Most recently, the committee has noticed more requests for educational resources, scholarship and counseling. And while a cap of $1,000 annually has been placed on each award, the committee examines every request carefully, including extenuating circumstances that might alter the cap.

The first step to getting help is as simple as approaching your synagogue, Jewish Collaborative Services or the Jewish Alliance.

Needs may have shifted slightly, but the willingness to pitch in has not. Community members continue to make donations to this campaign, and those seeking temporary support still receive it confidentially. But the money will not last indefinitely.

This is why the Alliance is asking everyone to spread the word about this fund, how to donate to it and how to get help.

Giving and receiving support of any kind is crucial to ensuring a strong, vibrant Jewish future. And we can only be successful in supporting those in need by doing so together.

For more information on the fund and ways you can help to strengthen it, contact Jennifer Zwirn, chief relationship officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater R.I , at jzwirn@jewishallianceri.org.