Covid-19 has altered s much in our lives, from where we work to how we buy groceries. For hardworking people across Marathon County, the economic impact of the pandemic   means long-term financial hardship. Since the beginning of the pandemic, hundreds of our community members have filed for unemployment. Sadly, this means many of our friends   and neighbors may face the difficult decision of paying rent or buying groceries this month – and will likely face similar difficult decisions in the months to come as they recover.

 

 Here is what you need to know about why the pandemic has led more people to seek help from The Neighbors’ Place:

 

• The pandemic forced businesses and workers to make tough decisions: To prevent the spread of coronavirus, many businesses were forced to close or lay off employees. This is especially true for people employed in restaurants, hotels, other service industries, and small businesses. People working in these industries who stayed employed often face the difficult choice between keeping their paychecks and protecting their health. Many people face reduced hours and paychecks when their employers reopen. All these changes impact people’s ability to plan and to provide for their families.

 

• Low wage workers are more impacted by the pandemic: Many people rely on low-wage work as their primary way to support themselves and their families. Hunger impacts these families more often because a lower income makes it more difficult to cover all your expenses. Low wage work also does not come with the same job security or benefits as other kinds of work. Since March, people with lower incomes have reported being laid off because of the coronavirus outbreak at higher rates. People with lower incomes are also less likely to have returned to work after being laid off than people with higher incomes.

 

• Changes to schools mean changes for working parents: Remote learning and school closures present more challenges to families who are struggling. Many working parents need to arrange costly childcare or balance working remotely and providing childcare. People who cannot perform their jobs remotely may decide to temporarily leave their jobs to care for their children.

 

• Getting back on your feet may take a while: We would love for the number of families needing help from us to decline as our economy recovers. However, changes to the number of people facing hunger tend to lag years behind economic improvements. Many families dealing with job loss or pay cuts may use money from their savings or retirement accounts to pay their bills - leaving them with an even less secure financial future.

 

How can you help our neighbors needing support?

 

• Support The Neighbors’ Place with a monthly donation. Our website provides a quick, safe, and easy way to put your financial gifts to work!

 

• Planning on doing most of your holiday shopping on-line this year? Now you can support us via Amazon Smile!

 

• You can support The Neighbors’ Place safely and virtually by participating in Empty Bowls and Share Your Holidays! Check out our social media pages for the latest information and stay tuned to our friends at WSAW – Channel 7 for more details!

 

• Apply to volunteer! It’s easy to do – just visit our website or give us a call!

 

We know how difficult these past several months have been and recognize that change is not easy, however, we’re excited to announce a change we think you’ll actually like! We’re proud to introduce to you our new and refreshed logo! We’re still “People Helping People”, we’ve just evolved our look to better represent the people we care about most – those we’re so grateful to serve.

 

In gratitude,

 

Donna Ambrose

COVID Food Pantry Procedure

With the recent spikes in Covid 19, we will be continuing our curbside food delivery system for the foreseeable future. If you are in need of getting food during this challenging time, here are a few of the procedures you need to be aware of:

 

1) Patrons form a waiting line up on North St. Paul Street (1 block west of The Neighbors Place) and then move onto Scott St.

2) When it is your turn, pull into the available stall, turn off your car, and wait for our staff to help you.

3) When you are directed to pick up your groceries, please wear a mask and use hand sanitizer as you pick up your food.

 

Did you know that you can pick up food on someone's behalf? You can! Just tell us who you are picking up for, and we will get you some assistance.

 

New Face at The Neighbors' Place

The Neighbors' Place is pleased to welcome Bettina Steadman to our team as our new Volunteer Coordinator! Bettina comes to us with experience coordinating volunteers, former work experience in the nonprofit and government fields, a degree in social work and AODA and has a passion for service. She's looking forward to meeting all of our volunteers and getting them excited about our mission!

 

Bettina will be overseeing all aspects of the volunteer program, working with our volunteers, groups, community service workers and employment-training programs. If you have questions about volunteer opportunities at TNP, you can reach Bettina here!

 

Our former Volunteer Coordinator, Mallory McGivern, will be moving into a new role as TNP's Community Impact Manager. She will be overseeing our fundraising efforts, marketing and social media, as well as our other programming like Wheels Again and TNP's new program-in-the-making, a diaper bank. If you have questions for Mallory, you can reach her here!

Safe & Healthy Food Pantry Updates

The Neighbors' Place has been busy revamping our current food pantry so we can move to a new model called Safe & Healthy. This will have a positive impact on our guest and volunteer experience when we reopen!

 

Because of funding through the federal government (The Cares Act), we have been able to add an additional walk-in refrigerator and freezer. These new facilities will have glass doors on one side which will allow our patrons to hand-pick the produce, milk and dairy, meat and other freezer products when we are able to reopen to the public. It will keep our produce fresher, allow us to rotate stock, and provide a better way to display all of the options available to our guests.  We want to thank Feeding America (Our TEFAP provider) and the Cares Act for providing us with the funding to improve our facilities.

Empty Bowls 2020 is Community-Wide

The effects of Covid-19 can be felt by all sectors of the community – from local businesses to nonprofits and everywhere in between. Many local organizations have cancelled or postponed their annual fundraisers and have lost incredibly important funding for their programming. The Neighbors’ Place was faced with a similar situation when looking to plan our flagship fundraiser, Empty Bowls.

 

With the community's safety in mind, Empty Bowls will take place as a community-wide event November 8th-21st and is presented by Bridge Community Health Clinic. Bowl sales will take place at local area businesses and soup sales at select local restaurants that will both support the programs of The Neighbors' Place. We hope that this new take on Empty Bowls will support both our organization as well as local businesses!

 

Watch our website and social media for Empty Bowls updates. Want to help out with this event? Let us know!

You Can Support Empty Bowls Early!

With the impact of COVID-19 on our community, nonprofits have been forced to be creative in their programming and fundraising efforts. With the loss of revenue, canceled events, and impacted yearly appeals, the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin is stepping in to raise awareness and shine a spotlight on local nonprofits, and provide a platform of giving toward their needs.

 

The Neighbors' Place is one of many organizations seeking funding to host our new Empty Bowls fundraiser, which is normally our largest effort to support our programming, like our food pantry. The COVID-19 Impact Catalog is an exciting month of giving during October 2020. This online crowdsourcing platform connects nonprofits with donors and community members to build relationships, support diverse causes, and create enduring impact in Marathon County. 

 

You can support TNP's Virtual Empty Bowls campaign here or you can donate directly to The Neighbors' Place here! We can’t do this without your support. Please consider a donation today—every gift matters!