A season of giving
Monetary donations sustaining nonprofits during COVID-19
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has kept many Tuolumne County residents indoors, but it hasn’t stopped an outpouring of public generosity from locals who continue to donate to philanthropic causes at a safe distance.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support during the pandemic,” said Joe Tobin, food bank director at the Amador-tuolumne Community Action Agency. “Though things are as hard as they are, people realize there are still families in need, and without the help of the food bank, they would otherwise go without.”
For most food banks and donation centers, cash and check donations have compensated for a decline in physical contributions of food or clothing. The money gives organizations the flexibility to focus resources where they’re most needed and often at a discounted price, a key advantage with food and living insecurity magnified in Tuolumne County during the pandemic.
ATCAA is partnered with 14 agencies through local food pantries in Tuolumne County who pick up items from the agency and distribute them to the community. There is still a significant amount of physical donations (including frozen turkeys in the days leading up to Thanksgiving), but for the most part, the pandemic has forced the public to provide sociallydistance dc ash donations over the internet or mail rather than in person.
“I think it’s actually helped us in a way,” Tobin said. “I can outsource pallets of food easier, it allows us to get the best buy for our dollars, it allows us to feed more families this way, and it allows us to allow social distancing and avoid physical contact.”
Resiliency Village, organized by a group of citizens in Jan. 2019 to tackle homelessness in the county, has seen the need for food, clothing and assistance magnified by financially insecure individuals and families, many of whom are without work due to the ongoing pandemic.
“Obviously the need is great this year,” said Mark Dyken, executive director Soulsbyville-based nonprofit organization that aims to build a village of tiny houses for the homeless. “It just seems like the state of things right now, some people have been really impacted by the pandemic and economic fallout. Some people haven’t been hit at all, so this could be the time to pay it forward,”
Shelley Muniz, secretary-treasurer and board member of Resiliency Village, said many of the calls for assistance during the pandemic had come from the elderly who are unable to leave their homes due to concerns about COVID-19.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of people calling in for food donations and not our usual people also,” she said. “We’re seeing the need growing, but people have been really generous.
The need is always so great this time of year, and it’s been exponential since the start of COVID. The numbers have grown for the amount of food we give out.”
Dyken also noted Dec. 1 is an event called “Giving Tuesday,” which will hopefully garner a fresh round of cash and physical donations.
“I’m sure all of the food banks and
service agencies would love to hear from our community,” he said.
Ellen Beck, of the Mother Lode Food Project in Sonora, said they are not collecting food at this time to protect the safety of many of their elderly clientele.
The Mother Lode Food Project garners cash donations and forwards them to the ATCAA Food Bank, who uses the money to purchase food for disadvantaged and financially insecure families.
“I really appreciated the reason of the community that they have sustained their generosity for helping their neighbors in need,” Beck said.
The organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year
and will have donated 100,000 pounds of food and $100,000 in cash to various philanthropic causes, Beck said.
“On the one hand, people have been really generous with their cash donations and we think it’s the safest health wise,” she said. “We understand that camaraderie is missing. It’s sort of less fun to write a check, but people understand the needs of the county.”
Some organizations are still continuing to take physical donations with more strict safety precautions.
Cathie Peacock, executive director with Interfaith in Sonora, said they are continuing to receive large amounts of clothing at the backside of the building during the donation hours of 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday. During off hours, the public can drop items in Salvation Army storage
bins that are emptied and sorted later.
“I think people that are staying home more are cleaning out everything,” she said. “A lot of people aren’t taking donations, but we still are.”
At this time, Interfaith is only receiving clothes that are washed because they do not have washing facilities on their property. Peacock said employees are using gloves and masks when handling the dona
tions (every hour they have to change gloves and wash their hands).
The donated items include jackets, jeans, shirts, books, toys and camping items. Peacock said.
“We really appreciate their donations,” she said. “Without their support, we would not have that for our clients, period.”
The organizations continue to maintain annual philanthropic events to provide for those in need during the holiday season.
Resiliency Village will host its Stuff the Bus event between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, in the Crossroads Shopping Center parking lot in Sonora. The event provides
supplies and aid for school children in need.
“We’ll be spreading out a lot more and using safety precautions for that day. We’re only accepting new donations this year,” Muniz said.
Resiliency Village also is working with Grandma’s House in Columbia, a tutoring and mentoring nonprofit organization, to set up socially distanced Christmas decorations in neighborhoods for drive-by viewing. The event, called “Christmas Inside Out,” will feature a Santa and other drive-by festivities, Muniz said.
“There’s just no way to do a lot of things we would normally do,” she said.