Funding represents second round of NC Healthcare Foundation’s support of local COVID-19 Initiatives
CARY, NC – July 21, 2020 – From helping economically distressed families live healthier in New Bern, to assisting victims of domestic violence in Durham, to supporting tele-health in Crossnore, 15 organizations across the state will receive more than $1.5 million in grants in the second round of the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation’s COVID-19 Fill the Gap Response Fund.
“Every day we hear about the numbers of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in our state, but what we often don’t hear are the voices from underserved communities that are suffering from this pandemic,” said Julia Wacker, foundation senior vice-president. “These grant funds will help organizations tackling issues like providing access to behavioral health services and safe, healthy and affordable housing to maintain the health and well-being of people they serve.”
One of those organizations is Peletah Ministries, Wacker said. The New Bern-based group runs Resilient HEALTH, a community outreach project aimed to help economically distressed communities affected by COVID-19. Funding will support healthy eating initiatives and provide financial medical assistance.
The fund, which in total has distributed nearly $3.5 million to organizations across North Carolina through two rounds, has assisted communities disproportionally impacted by COVID-19, including people of color, frontline essential workers, and rural communities. In the second round, the average grant size is $102,765. Lead funders include the David A. Tepper Foundation, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, State Employees’ Credit Union Foundation, and The Duke Endowment.
Grant recipients include:
Eastern North Carolina
- New Bern – Peletah Ministries – Funding will support initiatives that include healthy living education and medical financial assistance.
- Southport – J. Arthur Dosher Memorial Hospital Foundation, Inc. – Funding will support hospital employees facing financial hardship, health services in impoverished rural communities of color, and utilizing churches to share health information.
Piedmont Triad
- Greensboro – University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG) – Funding will support a project to provide direct services to underserved populations, especially immigrants, refugees, and communities of color.
- Mt. Airy – Surry Medical Ministries Foundation, Inc. – Funding will help improve patient outcomes for low income/uninsured populations by expanding access using an integrated medical model, improved audio-visual capabilities, and patient care coordination between existing area healthcare related services and organizations.
Central North Carolina – Triangle Region, Fayetteville and Lumberton
- Dunn – Episcopal Farmworker Ministry – Funding will support dissemination of culturally relevant and accurate information, mental health services, financial aid, and distribution of essential supplies.
- Durham – Lincoln Community Health Center, Inc. – Funding will support a targeted outreach and case management program to address the critical needs of children in immigrant and refugee limited English-proficiency families during COVID-19.
- Durham – North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence – Funding will support a peer health program in Black and indigenous communities in Robeson County.
- Raleigh – Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina – Funding will help address underserved young black and indigenous people of color in North Carolina who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
- Raleigh – Curamericas Global – Funding will support a partnership with AME Zion Baptist churches in Eastern North Carolina to help parishioners access medical and social services during the pandemic.
- Raleigh – YMCA of the Triangle Area, Inc. – Funding will help provide services in Southeast Raleigh, including safe housing, wellness efforts to reduce risk factors that intensify the impact of COVID-19, and access to technology to ameliorate learning loss due to COVID-19.
Western North Carolina
- Asheville – Western Carolina Medical Society Foundation – Funding will support the WCMSF’s Interpreter Network (WIN), upgrade WIN’s technology to accommodate video remote interpretation, and support confidential therapy services for frontline medical workers.
- Asheville – Institute for Preventative Healthcare and Advocacy – Funding will support workshops and direct services to underserved populations.
- Candler – Jordan Peer Recovery, Inc. – Funding will support workforce development training and support for citizens in Buncombe County.
- Crossnore – Crossnore School & Children’s Home – Funding will help the organization transition from in-person mental health services to telehealth – initiating new and creative ways to re-establish connections and to maintain trust with the children and families it serves.
- Hendersonville – Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County – Funding will support youth development programs, as well as rural and underserved populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with an emphasis on social emotional learning and behavioral health.
Please consider making a gift to the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation to help grow the COVID-19 Fill the Gap Fund for emerging, acute, and long-term needs. Make an online donation here.
About NCHF
Established in 1961, the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the North Carolina Healthcare Association. Its mission is to foster and accelerate the collective impact of hospitals, health systems and community partners to improve the health of North Carolinians.
