In the wake of Hurricane Irene, local nonprofits and businesses are stepping forward to help those in need.
Here’s a look at some of the efforts:
Food pantry gets help
Rockville Bank is leading an effort to collect financial donations to restock Hockanum Valley Community Council’s nearly empty Tri-Town Pantry, a food pantry that serves the Tolland County area.
“With so many Americans unemployed or underemployed, food pantries across the nation face the challenge of staying stocked with enough food to feed everyone who asks for help,” explained Bill Crawford, president and chief executive officer of Rockville Bank. “We can all make a local impact to help our neighbors by stepping forward to support essential programs like Hockanum Valley Community Council’s Tri-Town Pantry.”
The Rockville Bank Foundation has provided $2,500 in seed money to help launch a “pantry is near empty” campaign. Rockville Bank branches are accepting financial contributions made payable to the Community Council until Sept. 30. In addition, Rockville Bank Foundation has donated $5,000 to establish a challenge grant so that the council can potentially obtain $12,500 for fundraising purposes.
Prime Materials Recovery, Inc., headquartered in East Hartford, and CNC Software Inc., headquartered in Tolland, each has donated $5,000 to the challenge.
“It’s because of businesses like Rockville Bank, Prime Materials Recovery, CNC Software, and the general public that HVCC’s Tri-Town Pantry is able to provide food to those in great need,” said David Engelson, chief executive officer of HVCC. “With many families still without power after Hurricane Irene, the need is more urgent than ever and every dollar counts.”
AmeriCares offering grants
AmeriCares in Stamford has launched a $500,000 U.S. Disaster Recovery Initiative to aid survivors of Hurricane Irene and other recent storms affecting the East Coast, Midwest and the South.
AmeriCares will award grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 for projects in the health sector with an emphasis on medical and dental care for the uninsured, mental health and psychosocial support services, as well as preparedness for future disasters.
Supermarket matches donations
Price Chopper and the American Red Cross have teamed up to raise funds to help victims of Hurricane Irene.
Price Chopper will match the first $10,000 raised through its “Your Help Counts: Irene” pin up campaign where customers can purchase window signs to show their support for the campaign. All funds raised will be directed to the American Red Cross for disaster relief in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire, all states where Price Chopper Supermarkets are located.
Also, from now through Labor Day, $1 from every fresh-made pizza sold (hot or cold for take-out) at any Price Chopper will be donated to the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts.
Shelter app is hot
The American Red Cross “Shelter View” application, released in Apple’s iTunes Store last February, has hit the top 10 list of free utilities after experiencing a surge in downloads to help those affected by Hurricane Irene find the closest shelter and get to safety.
The application displays real time shelter information from the National Shelter System, updated every 30 minutes, utilizing the NSS Shelter Data Exchange Standard.
In addition, the application provides links for the user to donate or view up-to-date information from the Red Cross Newsroom website.
Design and development costs for the Shelter View application were contributed to the American Red Cross by VisionLink, Inc.
