With all but “life sustaining” businesses closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, our daily lives have been transformed — especially the lives of our most vulnerable community members. But there are three ways you can help right now to address their most urgent needs. One involves leaving your house; the other two can be done from the comfort of your self-quarantine.
- Deliver meals. Drivers are needed ASAP to deliver meals to the homes of older adults and other at high risk. All meals will be delivered outside the client’s door, with a “knock, drop and go” protocol to protect everyone’s safety. We have several community organizations through which you can sign up to serve meals-on-wheels:
- Mitzvah Food Program has five locations throughout the region. To sign up for a delivery shift of about two hours, fill out a brief form with your time and location preferences by clicking here.
- KleinLife, in Northeast Philadelphia, needs volunteers every Tuesday for delivery help throughout the crisis. To volunteer contact John Eskate at jeskate@kleinlife.org.
- JRA delivers food throughout the region; they have also implemented express pickup (no need to get out of your car) at their Northeast Philly warehouse. To sign up for a delivery route click here.
- Phone-a-Friend. Isolation is toxic, putting older adults at risk for depression and other serious health problems. Jewish Federation’s new phone-a-friend program allows you to reach out and (not) touch someone. Can you make regular phone calls to check in with a local senior citizen in our Jewish community? Fill out the form for and be matched with an isolated community member by clicking here.
- Donate. We are at the beginning of a long road for our community — especially older adults, people experiencing food insecurity and people with disabilities. The Jewish Federation has opened a COVID-19 Emergency Fund specifically to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on our communities and continue to meet the most critical needs as they arise. 100% of proceeds raised through this fund will go directly towards COVID-19 response efforts. To donate to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, click here.
However you support our communities, thank you for helping to Carry the Light.
For more Jewish Federation resources on COVID-19, click here.