COVID-19 Response Fund Awards $121,000 Grant to Mitigate the Spread among the Local Hispanic Community

A grant for $121,000 has been awarded to the Hispanic League from the COVID-19 Response Fund for Forsyth County. Data shows that Latinx households in Forsyth County have been disproportionately impacted by the novel coronavirus and its effects, and this grant supports a comprehensive effort across multiple stakeholders to mitigate the virus’s spread within the Latinx community.  

The grant will help individuals meet financial needs that arise from testing positive for COVID-19 and needing to quarantine, and it will also give families the option to protect more vulnerable individuals and therefore lower their risk of contracting COVID-19. Services will include supportive/off-site housing for Latinx households impacted by COVID-19 and rent/mortgage and utility assistance due to lost wages/employment during quarantine periods.  

Courtney James, speaking on behalf of the grant distribution committee, says, “It has been heartbreaking, yet unfortunately not surprising, to see across the board how communities of color have been the most negatively impacted by the many effects of the pandemic. The grant committee was pleased to support this collaborative program to support our Latinx community by helping those who are sick to heal and by preventing the virus from spreading to others within their families and workplaces.”  

This effort stemmed from a private/public partnership convened to explore measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among the Hispanic community. Agency representatives included these organizations: Que Pasa, Department of Social Services, Crisis Control Ministry, Department of Public Health, Legal Aid, Division of FaithHealthNC/Wake Forest Baptist Health, LBCM Todos Health Management, Hispanic League, and Novant Health.

About the COVID-19 Response Fund for Forsyth County

United Way of Forsyth County and The Winston-Salem Foundation launched the COVID-19 Response Fund for Forsyth County in March 2020 to support a range of nonprofit organizations assisting members of the community during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly those most vulnerable. United Way of Forsyth County and The Winston-Salem Foundation are administering the Fund, charging no administrative fees.  

Since the Fund was announced, almost $3.5 million has been contributed to the fund from private sources, including foundations, corporations, groups, and individuals. During the first phase of grantmaking in April 2020, the Response Fund made $2,563,000 in grants to 52 nonprofits. An additional grant round is anticipated for fall 2020.  

The City of Winston-Salem, which contributed $1 million to the COVID-19 Response Fund in addition to the above funding from private sources, managed a grant program which awarded $1,000,000 in grants to 23 nonprofits in April 2020. For more information, visit the City’s website.

To contribute to the COVID-19 Response Fund, visit covid19forsyth.org or text COVID19Forsyth to 71777 (msg and data rates may apply).  

Corporations and foundations: to donate by check or ACH, contact Meridith Whitaker, Director of Philanthropic Services at The Winston-Salem Foundation, at (336) 604-5032 or mwhitaker@wsfoundation.org.