Voluntary Action Center reaches $25K goal
KCaulder@CalhounTimes.com
The Voluntary Action Center will move forward with plans to expand its Community Kitchen Meal Program this year after raising $25,000 in the span of three months. The funds are being matched by an anonymous donor and will go toward expanding the Hunger and Homeless Outreach programs, specifically its highlyanticipated dinner program.
The addition of dinners to the Community Kitchen Meal Program was put on pause earlier this year after COVID-19 caused businesses, including the VAC’s thrift store, to shut down operations for several months. Executive Director Stacy Long said she is thankful that the donor decided to step up and fill in for the losses the organization suffered during that time.
“We are so thankful and appreciative of the support, both from our donor and the community,” Long said. “Everyone who made a contribution made a difference for families here in the county.”
There is no set date as of now for the start of the dinner program, but Long said she thinks it will be possible to get something off the ground by the end of the year.
At that time, dinner will be phased in slowly, with warm meals first served on Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The goal is to add additional days and serving times until hot dinners are being served five days a week in the kitchen.
Other programs to benefit from the money raised through the matching fundraiser include the VAC’s community kitchen, food pantry and laundry and shower facilities, among others.
VAC,
Outer Elements Inc., 25 employees
Royal Thai America’s 2017 Inc., 69 employees
RRR Transportation Co., 125 employees
Western Plastics Inc., 160 employees
The specific amount of the award is not listed but Marglen Industries and Shorter University in Floyd County are in the category of recipients getting somewhere between $2 million and $5 million. Marglen sought to preserve 198 jobs and Shorter’s application noted 403 positions.
Foss Manufacturing Co. in Rome, with 229 employees at risk, also fell into that category.
Among the companies in surrounding counties were Surya Carpet, Aquafil USA and Taylor Transport in Bartow County — with 250, 296 and 240 employees respectively.
The program, passed hurriedly by Congress in March, was designed to provide small firms with loans of as much as $10 million, based on a company’s average monthly payroll before the pandemic. The loans can become grants if borrowers use the proceeds mostly to pay workers — with some spending allowed for rent and overhead costs.
Almost from the beginning, the PPP was dogged by controversy as some publicly traded firms tapped it. Many returned PPP loans after their borrowing drew criticism. The program’s supporters say it has kept tens of millions of workers employed during the pandemic and contributed to the surprising 2.5 million U.S. jobs added in May, with an additional 4.8 million jobs in June.
One other company in the surrounding area received a loan of between $5 million and $10 million.
Quest Global Inc., a freight hauling trucking company in Cartersville, anticipated paying 420 employees with its loan.
News reports on the program have disclosed that members of Congress have taken or benefited from PPP loans, as well as firms that have reported significant revenue, closed facilities or filed for bankruptcy protec