Challenges Posed to Social Service Philanthropy by COVID-19
Social service is a form of philanthropy that relies heavily on face-to-face contact to carry out their aid, and the pandemic affects this sector of the philanthropic force rather heavily.
Zooming in on Cleveland specifically, there are a few local organizations that are rising to the occasion to take on the challenge to care for others.
One such organization affected by the pandemic is Bellefaire JCB.
Founded in 1868 as an orphanage, Bellefaire has always worked closely with philanthropy and children. Shifting recently into a full-fledged mental health and disability assistance in the recent years, the organization prided itself on their personal relationships with their clients and patients, and the pandemic shook the core of their operations.
Many of their workers were able to receive an exception from the stay-at-home mandate due to their service being considered a necessity.
They depicted the exception to the mandate in more detail within their community updates.
Another big problem that COVID-19 caused for them was a lack of resources.
Many of the medical supplies were being distributed to first responders, and in order to safely carry out their services, the Bellefaire workers needed proper equipment.
They ended up turning to the community, requesting for supplies such as medical and handmade masks, as well as various cleaning supplies. They were critical necessities for the workers, as live-in residential programs exist within Bellefaire for many vulnerable people, and keeping everyone safe was the organization's top priority.
Another organization with ties to Cleveland is Little Africa.
Little Africa is a charity founded in 2016 in response to the murder of Philando Castile, in an attempt to bring the community together through social service and to rebuild and nurture neighborhoods.
A social service organization that stands for equality through volunteer work and food fundraising, Little Africa had to take more creative measures when it came to safe food distribution. They had to find a way to share food and resources without face-to-face contact and find a way to build community through these resources while maintaining safe COVID-19 regulations.
It was especially critical for them, as they often came into contact with a number of different people, a good portion of them being elderly and young members of the community who were at high risk.
Like Bellefaire, they needed a solution, and they needed a variety of resources in order to come up with a viable solution. Little Africa needed lots of things: manpower, funding, and the community's support.
The team was able to come up with a proposal that would be approved. They decided to pair up with another organization, the Feed the Soul project, to put everything into place. Through the combined manpower and support, they were able to create an efficient and safe delivery program to continue building family bonds and community with their work.
They have fed 350 families since launch.
