Our world has changed, but our resilience in Lewis County has not. We have been through rough times before, but none like the kind we are facing now. Today we meet our challenges with face masks and gloves, and a desire to have life be the way it was just a month ago. The impact of COVID-19 has identified obvious needs in our community. We have seen an outpouring from community organizations and people stepping up to meet these needs.
At Centralia Community Foundation (CCF), we made a fundraising request to the community. After establishing the COVID -19 Relief Fund, we had two donors pledge matching funds totaling $5,000. We were pleased with the swift response, and in less than two weeks we exceeded our goal. We also had an emergency vote by the Board of Directors to assign an additional $15,000 to better meet the needs of community. This means that right now we will be putting over $25,000 to work right away.
Our 6-person Covid-19 Relief Fund Advisory Committee made up of CCF Board members, a city representative, and a county representative are assessing the greatest needs. There are several organizations who are providing important services and the advisory committee will assess distribution based on the changing needs as this situation progresses over the next few weeks.
Two immediate areas of focus for our support have so far been identified:
- Education support for kids unable to access learning materials, books or supplies
- Support job opportunities based on area manufacturing plants that are shifting production to support healthcare workers with PPE
As most people know, the foundation has been supporting education in Centralia Schools and the Career Pathways Initiative for High School and College Students. Even though there will be a delay in our schedule with these programs based on school closures, we are still on track to meet our commitments with the programs we are supporting.
“In our changing times we need to adjust our plan for the situation, and better meet the needs of the people. We thought the shutdown would be a few weeks, but it now looks like it could be for a while.
The Centralia Community Foundation is a ‘fundraising community foundation’ and it is our duty to raise the funds to help our community. We saw the need to help other organizations meet the needs, right now, in our community. So, we put a plan in action to adjust and raise some additional funds for immediate relief. I believe the strategy of the foundation is to build better work force through education and opportunities. At this time, I see the need to protect and help our work force to adapt.” says Dan Rich, CCF Board President.
We are fortunate to live in this community, and together we will get through this.
Please, if you haven’t yet donated, consider a contribution to the COVID-19 Relief Fund.
OUR MISSION
Centralia Community Foundation will provide dedicated leadership, fundraising and a commitment to create positive change in Centralia.
We will partner with donors to support education and civic enhancements that will improve the quality of life for all our citizens.
