The Response of Education Nonprofits to New Covid-19 Challenges
1. Free and Reduced Lunches
According to NPR, most school districts have begun to offer a designated pick-up time when students can grab a to-go meal. While this method seems like an effective way to ensure that students are still receiving their lunches, there is one major flaw with the model."This food pickup model still requires families to come to a designated site at a designated time. And many can't. Often, parents and caregivers have to work and can't get away in the middle of the day. Or they don't have a way to get to the designated pickup site. Or they're not comfortable making daily food runs in a pandemic" (Turner).
This is where education nonprofits have had to step in. An example is NEST Community Learning Center: an education nonprofit located in Loveland, Ohio. This organization has opened six local sites around their district where students and their families can receive free meals and snacks from 12:30-1:30pm during the week. The organization also provides home delivery services for families who lack transportation or cannot make it to one of the sites during the designated time. Unfortunately, not all nonprofits have the resources and volunteer base to do this, leaving many students hungry. The NPR article estimates that one-fifth of families do not currently have enough food to feed their children but lack the resources to buy more (Turner). Education nonprofits are still trying to address this issue as best they can.
2. Internet Access
Another challenge that education nonprofits have had to face is making sure that all students have reliable internet connection to participate in remote classes and online learning.
3. Academic Support
In addition to now having to accommodate students nutritional needs, education nonprofits have had to find creative ways to offer academic resources to low-income students while following social distancing regulations. Instead of working closely with individuals or small groups of students with community shared resources, education nonprofits have had to move their support online or offer academic materials for students to take home for independent use. NEST Community Learning Center has begun distributing books to homes and handing out academic packets to students who pick up free meals at one of their sites.4. Funding
How has funding been affected? How have they changed fundraising events or gotten donations?"We took advantage of some of the Covid-19 relief funds that were released in March and April. . . and also an individual appeal that we made to individual donors to get donated over 100 Chromebooks and iPads that we got out to the students so they could connect."
-Breakthrough's Executive Director
