Nonprofits transform services to get by
1 year in, pandemic has hit Southland groups in some unexpected ways
For an organization that relies heavily on face-to-face interactions with the people it serves, Sertoma Centre has had to make a few adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Alsip-based nonprofit assists people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, as well as people with mental health issues, and the need for maintaining safety protocols has meant a hit for Sertoma’s finances.
Also, it and another Southland nonprofit, Together We Cope in Tinley Park, got more bad news on the financial front last week with the International Housewares Association canceling its trade show, The Inspired Home Show, which had been scheduled for early August at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
The March 2020 show was also canceled due to the coronavirus.
Sertoma and Together We Cope have been among a handful of Chicago area nonprofits benefiting from donations of merchandise from vendors exhibiting products at the housewares show, with the charities in turn selling the items.
Sertoma’s Super Sale of merchandise, that can include dishes, small appliances and some furniture, brings in about $100,000 annually.
Last year’s show was canceled at the last minute, after many vendors had already had products shipped to Chicago, and Sertoma was able to get a limited amount of merchandise, according to Gus van den Brink, Sertoma’s executive director.
“It was a minimal amount and we have had it in storage hoping we could combine it with what we expected to get this year,” he said Thursday. “We are now thinking of doing something smaller and selling (what is in storage).”
“Two years of that was a loss for us,” he said.
Sertoma has had to shrink the size of in-person counseling sessions to maintain social distancing, and some activities are being held virtually.
“We’re doing a lot less because of the pandemic,” van den Brink said.
The nonprofit is reimbursed through the state’s Medicaid person, and “if you don’t serve somebody you don’t get paid.”
Sertoma had 378 employees before the pandemic and is now at 315 people on the payroll, with some jobs lost due to layoffs and others through attrition, van den Brink said.
For example, Sertoma had to let go employees who would drive a 12-passenger van to pick up clients. With social distancing, “we could get three people in the van, and it just doesn’t work out,” van den Brink said.
He said Sertoma was able to get financial help through federal programs enacted in response to the pandemic, such as the Paycheck Protection Program and through the CARES Act, although
he declined to give a dollar amount.
According to the Small Business Administration, Sertoma received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $2.7 million in April.
“That was one of the lifesavers for us,” van den Brink said. “Those things really made a difference.”
Apart from the housewares sale, Sertoma also holds a fundraiser, the Big Event Heroes Cook-Off, where area first responders cook their favorite recipe and food is served to the public. It’s usually at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park and includes a band, van den Brink said.
Last year’s event took place virtually, and the one planned for this May might involve a drive-up component to pick up food, he said.
“Even with the vaccine available it’s too early to do something full-fledged and in-person,” van den Brink said.
While some staff members are still doing their jobs in Sertoma’s offices, the pandemic has changed the way the agency works, he said.
“Any staff that can work remotely we have given them laptops and we might leave it that way,” van den Brink said. “Everybody seems to be adapting.”
In-person sessions with clients will hopefully increase as vaccine availability increases, he said.
“We are hoping to be able to bring people back slowly and safely for the rest of the coming year,” he said.
Together We Cope, a homelessness prevention organization, has used the housewares donations to directly help its clients as well as selling merchandise at its thrift store.
During the onset of the pandemic, the nonprofit had to close its resale shop, which generates about $6,000 weekly in revenue, for a few months due to state-imposed restrictions.
Patrons who would typically come inside the food pantry have been driving into the office’s parking lot on Oak Park Avenue, with groceries being brought outside to them to minimize contact, according to Kathy Straniero, Together We Cope’s executive director.