Georgina residents, businesses come through during coronavirus crunch

#GivingBack: Georgina steps up in time of need, offering food, fabric and support during COVID-19 crisis

Yorkregion.com
June 2, 2020
Amanda Persico

Help and support have been flooding in --in the form of food, fabric and bed sheets.

Residents and businesses alike have stepped up to ensure Georgina stays strong through the coronavirus pandemic.

From #CareMongering groups to matching dollar-for-dollar donations and sending messages of hope to those impacted by COVID-19, organizations throughout Georgina are feeling the true sense of community.

Recently, the town launched #StayStrongGeorgina, a campaign where residents can share messages of support and showcase the community’s various acts of kindness.

And the Georgina Community Food Pantry is one of the organizations being boosted by community support.

The food pantry received a $92,000 leg-up last month as a result of the town’s community challenge.

Over the Easter holiday, the town encouraged residents to support the food pantry and the town matched donations dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000.

“This town is something,” said Catherine Cook, food pantry executive director.

“The community really knows how to come through in a crunch.”

When the town --and the province --shut down in March, the food pantry was already starting to see food supplies donated during the winter holidays deplete.

The annual Easter food drive brings in another surge of much-needed food items, enough to last the following month.

But the drive didn’t happen.

Neither did the food pantry’s annual fundraising dinner, which typically draws in about $50,000 for the local agency.

Instead, the community answered the call --raising enough funds to sustain the food pantry and those who use it through the tough time.

And donations are still pouring in, Cook said.

As the food pantry is located in The Link, a facility owned by the town, it remains closed to the public.

The surest way to donate is online.

Usage at the food pantry has gone up by about 10 per cent, compared to last year at this time.

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Cook was expecting --and preparing for --a wave of new pantry users.

But emergency benefits such as CERB and wage subsidy programs introduced by the federal government have “really helped people,” Cook said.

That doesn’t mean we’re outta the COVID-19 weeds just yet.

Currently, the those programs are only in place for 16 weeks.

What happens when the benefit runs out? What if people don’t have a job to go back to? What if residents are stuck working reduced hours?

There could be another uptake in demand come late summer, Cook said.

"It's not over until it’s over,” she said.

The outpouring of donations has also allowed the food pantry to expand services by providing more fresh produce to families and enough food to last about seven days, instead of five.

Volunteers have pivoted from pantry shoppers to delivery drivers, offering porch pickups.

“Now, clients don’t have to come to a potentially crowded situation,” Cook said. “And the fewer times someone has to go to the grocery store the better it is for everyone.”

Another group is also offering a porch pickup service for food --providing breakfast for children who would normally have been part of a school’s breakfast program.

Georgina Pop-Up Breakfast Club started soon after schools were shut down following March break.

The group is continuing to deliver to families in need --having delivered more than 800 bags so far --and plans to continue through the summer.

“Clearly, the need is out there and growing,” said Emilee Elliott, a Pop-Up Breakfast Club co-ordinator.

SOSGeorgina formed to fill another gap --providing masks and scrub caps to front-line workers. The group of dedicated sewists are close to the 2,000-mask mark, delivering the much-needed PPE to health-care workers, those with compromised health conditions, group homes and women’s shelters.

The group also started sewing washable PPE gowns made from bedsheets for staff at River Glen Haven Long-Term care facility currently facing a COVID-19 outbreak.

SOSGeorgina also has a collection of custom T-shirt and bandana masks as well as regular masks for sale to the general public with proceeds supporting River Glen Haven and the Georgina Community Food Pantry.