COVID-19

$607,000 raised and distributed in 2020! 

We did amazing things and were Better Together in 2020! Our community’s generosity to the Covid-19 Relief Fund enabled people to receive food and emergency shelter; child care centers to remain open and viable; families to receive essential services. Our partners, our initiatives, and the community flexed time and again to help every person possible.

  Please see in blue below how much COVID-19 Relief Funding was received by each individual program or collective as of December 31, 2020:

Keene Day Care Center: Your donations helped in the following three areas: Helped families whose income was impacted to pay their child care tuition, helped staff who missed work due to illness or need to care for their own children receive pay for missed time, helped our program in general recoup any losses we encountered due to this situation. $24,833.24

Monadnock Community Early Learning Center: Relief funds helped to provide the extra necessities to ensure that the Center stayed open. This included thermometers, probe covers, sanitizers, and other materials to ensure the health and safety of our families and staff. Additional funds helped families struggling to pay tuition due to the shutdown of jobs.$19,833.24

Rise for baby and family: Funds allowed Rise to provide individualized support to playgroup families during the time that playground was suspended because of social distancing requirements. This individualized support was an unplanned expense for Rise, but was critical for families during this challenging time. It also helped to defray costs related to purchasing new technology and subscriptions required to connect with families virtually. $19,833.24

Walpole Village School: The Board decided to close this small child care program (based on the VT closure of child care for all but the children of emergency personnel) as of Friday, 3/20/20. Relief funds were used to pay bills and other basic operating costs so that the program had the financial means to re-open after the COVID-19 crisis. Any surplus relief funds were used to support tuition assistance for families upon reopening.$19,833.24

Winchester Learning Center: Our day to day cash flow was impacted as we could not bill if a child was not present, so these funds helped us hold those spots open. We were committed to staying open until we were forced to close so that our families that were able to work could do so. $21,833.24

Southern NH Services – Hillsboro Child Development Center: $8,333.24

ACCESS: This is a collective of programs that offer afterschool enrichment opportunities in a safe environment. The collective is comprised of the following programs: Hinsdale After School Program, Keene Family Y, Keep After School Project, Keene, Kids Adventures Before/Afterschool Program, Hillsboro MRSC, Beyond the Bell Project $25,999.96

Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative (CCEHC): Provided financial assistance to families that struggled to pay rent and keep stable housing. We paid rent and utility costs for disruptions in income that were reasonably related to COVID-19. CCEHC is comprised of the following organizations: Southwestern Community Services (including its WIC Program), Hundred Nights, Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention. $87,499.67

The Monadnock Food Pantries Collective: Funds helped The Community Kitchen and the other agencies of the Monadnock Food Pantries Collaborative to procure vital supplies to help feed Monadnock region residents who were most vulnerable to the COVID-19 economic ramifications through hot meals and pantry programs. The Monadnock Food Pantries Collective is comprised of the following organizations: The Community Kitchen, Gert’s Pantry (Swanzey), Joan’s Pantry (Chesterfield), Federated Church Food Pantry (Marlborough), Helping Hands of Troy, Jaffrey Food Pantry, and Kidz Cupboard (Marlborough). $94,499.67

Monadnock Home Visiting Alliance (MHVA): Distributed funds among its four entities to provide direct supports to families in need of purchasing food, diapers, and other life essentials. This funding was also used so that staff could support families in their new role of providing education at home and to maintain continuity of services while funding distribution is interrupted. Training of staff on best practices for remote service delivery also ensured that home visitors had the skills and capacities needed to effectively meet the needs of families during this time. The Monadnock Home Visiting Alliance is comprised of the following organizations: Rise for baby and family, The Grapevine, HCS Healthy Starts, and The River Center.  $42,499.67:

Monadnock Parent Education Collective (MPEC): MPEC used relief funds to plan and implement remote learning options for parent education. MPEC is comprised of the following organizations: Monadnock Family Services, The Grapevine, HCS Healthy Starts and The River Center.  $42,499.67

Other Designations: The following programs and collectives received funding through donor designations $44,501.92

  • Cheshire County Emergency Housing Collaborative, Hundred Nights, Keene Day Care Center, Keene First Responders, Monadnock Family Services, Monadnock Food Pantries Collective, Peterborough Human Services Fund, Southwestern Community Services , The Community Kitchen , The Salvation Army, The Keene Senior Center, Monadnock Family Services (MFS) Adult Care Services, HCS Meals on Wheels, Community Volunteer Transportation Company (to supply PPE to multiple agencies serving seniors), Monadnock Home Visiting Alliance, Monadnock Community Early Learning Center, Rise for baby and family, Winchester Learning Center, Walpole Village School 

  CARES Act Fund Distribution:

In partnership with the Governor’s Office and Granite United Way, Monadnock United Way was awarded and distributed over $155,000 in CARES Act Funding to help provide basic needs to people affected by substance use disorder (SUD) and experiencing challenges caused by COVID-19 in the Monadnock Region: The Doorway at Cheshire Medical Center, Monadnock Area Peer Support Agency (MPS), and Gates Recovery Center in New Ipswich, NH each received funding between September and December 2020. The three programs helped over 660 individuals and families affected by SUD cover the costs of basic needs including childcare, transportation, fuel, utilities, housing, clothing, phone bills, computers, and internet access. Read more...

Background

In June 2021, we reached a milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. More businesses opened as individuals were vaccinated and life got back to some sense of normal. The crisis for many is not over, however. Unemployed or underemployed families are still struggling to cover basic needs expenses, children and families are still without affordable childcare, families are still facing homelessness, and individuals and families are isolated by the lack of technology in their communities. Monadnock United Way through The COVID-19 Recovery Fund hopes to be able to help close the gap for programs and initiatives that are working to help families in need. 

Applications received in July 2021 were evaluated by a trained and qualified group of volunteer investment team members in August 2021 and awards were made in September 2021. $85,500 was awarded to qualifying programs and MUW plans to award the remaining $44,500 at a later date.

Awards

Keene Housing Kids Collaborative received $2,500 to fund summer activity scholarships for children. These scholarships allowed children to participate in community recreational activities, intended to support social and emotional skill development, during the summer in preparation for reentering school. This initiative addresses the need to help children to develop social and emotional skills during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mayhew Program received $10,000 to support students participating in one-on-one and small group mentoring with positive male role models during 2021, providing them with essential social, emotional, and academic supports during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Monadnock Alliance for Families (MAF) received $15,000 for general support of families struggling through COVID-19 recovery. These supports include: home visiting, case management, resource connection, programs for parents/caregivers that support building parenting skills, and enriched engagement programs for children.

Monadnock Community Early Learning Center received $10,000 for temporary child care scholarships for families transitioning back to the workforce or school during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Monadnock Social Services Collective is a newly formed collective consisting of Keene Senior Center, Keene Housing, Cheshire Medical Center, MFS, CVTC, HCS, SCS, SWRPC, Service Link, MAT, RSVP. The Collective received $15,000 to conduct a needs assessment on digital literacy and access in the Monadnock Region. The funding will help build understanding about the gaps in our community and provide an action plan to support those who are under-served or financially challenged with ways to receive quality services that will help keep them healthy, enhance their quality of life and help them to continue living independently as long as possible. This initiative addresses the need to try to close technology gaps like broadband access, digital literacy, and affordable digital devices for residents during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. 

The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund received $5,500 to produce a video highlighting the affordability, availability, and quality of life afforded by home ownership in a Resident Owned Community addressing adequate and affordable housing for families in the Monadnock Region during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance received $7,500 for housing-related advocacy. This initiative addresses the need for financial stability and policy advocacy the area of affordable housing for individuals and families in the Monadnock Region during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Rise for baby and family received $10,000 for child care scholarships and continuation of safety protocols initiated during the height of the pandemic. This initiative addresses the need for affordable quality child care, safety, and financial stability for children and families in the Monadnock Region during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winchester Learning Center received $10,000 for funding to provide support for staff education and training. This initiative addresses the need for affordable quality child care for children in the Monadnock Region during this period of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.