Nonprofit needs PPE, activity donations
TEXARKANA, Texas — With social distancing guidelines in place and the need for safety during the coronavirus pandemic, agencies like Evergreen Life Services face extra challenges.
As a nonprofit organization, Evergreen serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at its nine community homes in the Texarkana area.
Direct care staff help residents as they encounter what the agency describes as a new normal, working through communication and behavioral challenges while observing healthy practices like handwashing and staying a safe distance apart.
“Because of the population that we serve, the communication barriers prevent some people from understanding the importance and the severity of coronavirus or COVID19,” said Amber Keith, director of donor relations at Evergreen. They serve about 55 individuals, who are eclectic in their ages and disabilities.
People served by Evergreeen can’t attend the organization’s day program now, so they are staying at the community homes, meaning activities are sorely needed. Extra PPE are also needed.
“Now all of our staff are of course required to wear the masks and the gloves on every shift in every home … We’re just going through an astronomical amount of product,” Keith said. With staff extra vigilant on the front lines, they’re using so much more than they normally do.
“It’s just a huge magnitude more that we’re required to use right now,” Keith said. They’re mostly keeping up with what’s required, but they really need face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray now. The costs have gone up for these items because of demand.
In addition, donated recreational materials would help, Keith said. “Like card games, board games, any
type of electronic game — Simon Says, for example,” she said.
Adult coloring books, crossword puzzles, colored pencils and pens — “any type of activity that can help give everyone something to do on a daily basis,” Keith said. All of these things would help residents pass the time during the pandemic.
“Because of the population that we serve, they are used to a typical routine and a certain amount of interaction at the day program that they’re aren’t getting. They’re off routine,” Keith said.
Often, activities for these residents include outings, community service and parttime jobs. “All of that, of course, has come to a halt,” Keith said Without all that, they need things to do.
For Evergreen’s people served, it’s a challenge on a few different levels. “Like everyone else, they’re adjusting to a new way of living,”
Keith said.
About the critical need now, Evergreen’s Texas State Executive Director Linda Bailey said they have a standard PPE supply for each home, but these times call for them to be used more often.
“Prior to the coronavirus, it was not unusual to go a year without the need for our staff to wear masks. When you consider the number of staff we have and multiply that by the number of masks and gloves we use in a 24 hour period, it becomes a great amount of needed supplies.
Our services aren’t always considered front line, so we tend to be lower on the priority list of those to receive supplies. With that said, we are in need of face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray. Based on supply/demand, a lot of these items have risen in cost,” Bailey said about the coronavirus impact.
Specific supply needs include face masks, gowns, face shields, gloves of all sizes, paper towels, toilet paper, tissue paper, laundry detergent, adult diapers, shampoo and conditioner, dishwashing detergent, disinfectant cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products.
Along with this, suggested donations for activities include card games, board games and electronic games.
(To donate items, email Amber Keith at amber. keith@evergreenls.org to make arrangements. To donate online, do so at easttexasgivingday.org/ EvergreenLifeServices or at evergreenls.org and select Local Divisions, Northeast Texas.)