United Way is coordinating services with local nonprofits and community leaders to provide support for Pickens County's most vulnerable neighbors during this critical time. In order to meet both immediate and long term needs, United Way of Pickens County has established the COVID-19 Community Recovery Fund.
"My wife Elizabeth saw the note about the COVID-19 Community Relief Fund today and we had a family discussion. Elizabeth was reading this to me when our six year old daughter, Claire, disappeared upstairs and soon after returned with a handful of money from her piggy-bank. She sat down and counted it. $27. She said 'I want to donate this to help out.' Needless to say, it was hard for Elizabeth and I to contain our emotion. We’ve made a donation. God bless you and what you do for our community."
We know that Pickens County residents over the next few months will need assistance meeting their most basic needs due to lost wages. We have established the COVID-19 Community Recovery Fund to meet their food, rent/utility, and healthcare needs. Donations made to the Recovery Fund will be distributed to Community Impact partners and programs serving Pickens County.
COVID-19 Community Recovery Fund Status
Donations Received To Date: 444 gifts totaling $141,538.92.
Your Gifts At Work:
- Meals on Wheels- $11,658.53 for supplies needed to be able to provide weekend frozen meals for home-bound seniors and to serve additional clients (freezer, trays, transport bags, coolers, warmer plates, chillers, sterile gloves, etc.)
- Salvation Army- $31,000 for rent and utility assistance, and for necessities such as gas or baby supplies for individuals who have lost significant wages due to the coronavirus.
- United Christian Ministries- $43,183 for food and rent assistance for people who have lost jobs due to the coronavirus, and for additional WIFI network access points to provide the needed signal strength for a paperless, no touch dive-through system.
- Able SC- $6,988 to provide food and other supplies for people with disabilities who are at a higher risk of being infected with and dying of COVID-19 than any other population.
- Pickens County Advocacy Center- $3,000 to provide masks, gloves, sanitizer, acrylic desk barriers and deep cleaning so that staff, volunteers and clients can resume in-person services. This funding will also help continue the tele-health and tele-crisis intervention services.
- Cancer Association of Pickens County- $6,357 for transportation costs to Greenville for cancer treatment, and Ensure for cancer patients.
- Safe harbor- $6,000 for housing support (security deposits, first months rent, etc.) and for shelter services (in shelter or in a hotel.)
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)- $2,275 to promote mental health services at local high school football games and provide Ending the Silence suicide awareness and prevention presentations.
- Samaritan Health Clinic: $2,550 for air purification systems for the medical and dental clinics.
- The Ron Webber Fund for Homeless and Impoverished Children: $5,000 to meet basic needs of homeless and impoverished children.
Your lifesaving gift of $4,500 was delivered to Meals on Wheels and is providing weekend meals for home-bound seniors.
Your generosity provided a freezer for Meals on Wheels which was kindly delivered by Sheriff Rick Clark.
Your donation is providing food and essential supplies through Able SC for individuals with disabilities, a population which is at higher risk of being infected with and dying from COVID-19.
Updated 3/4/2021