COVID-19 Community Support
Covid-19 Response
Here are a few ways to offer assistance locally. We will continue to update this list on a regular basis.
Last updated: April 28, 2020
General Volunteer Opportunity Links
Mecklenburg County
The county has a new hotline number for Covid-19 related volunteers. Phone#: 704-432-4187. Website: https://charmeckresponds.org/
Greater Charlotte Rise COVID-19 Mutual Aid Volunteer Sign-up
Health
Camino Community Center
From Keri Revins (Camino Community Center):
We are in the process of developing a plan to expand some of our services, including the food pantry. Many pantries in the area are closing but to help but the high demand for food, we are expanding. We normally operate 2 days a week but are moving to 4 days starting next week and hope to open 6 days within 30 days. Beginning next Tuesday the pantry hours will be Tues-Friday from 12-3pm. We also hope to begin adding delivery services to bring groceries to elderly and disabled individuals. As a result, we will need approximately 12-16 volunteers each day the food pantry is open. I am copying Ben and Bobby Price who are coordinating these efforts, and Krista Tang, our Bonner student who is continuing to help us coordinate volunteers during this time. If you know anyone who is willing to volunteer, students, faculty, staff, etc.please send them our way. They can reach out to Krista directly at the Camino volunteer email copied here.
- Ben Price: ben@caminocommunitycenter.org
- Bobby Price: bobby@caminocommunitycenter.org
- Volunteer Coordinator: volunteer@caminocommunitycenter.org
Camino is raising funds to expand our food pantry services so we are able to help more families during this difficult time. Many people we serve have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are struggling to make ends meet, including purchasing food for their families. Molly has created a short instructional guide that explains how you can become a fundraiser and share this on your own personal social media pages. Please see the documents (in English and Spanish) that explain what to do to create your page. Any amount someone is able to give is helpful and appreciated! If you are not able to give yourself, please help us encourage others to give by creating your own fundraising page and share it with your friends, family members, and networks. If you prefer to just give a donation and not create a fundraising page, you can do that as well. You can donate at the first site you are directed to. We appreciate your continued support!
NC MedAssist
From Robbie Jarrett (MedAssist): We do need help with answering phones if students are in a position to help.
Racial Health Disparities
Susan Harden (College of Education) talked about the need for advocacy for reporting the racial breakdown of COVID cases at the state level. There are racial disparities and they are not being reported at the state level. Reach out to elected officials at the state level to request this information be reported at the state level. For more info: https://qcitymetro.com/2020/03/30/opinion-why-are-covid-19-numbers-rising-so-fast-among-black-residents-in-mecklenburg-county/?fbclid=IwAR15Kn-Rga4SpoVIq92iMnyNB0O2SUqwvZHiQsEW8GybzJxYQlVwnkUhqNk
Housing
From Lori Thomas’ (Urban Institute) article for the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute website:
Right now, agencies addressing homelessness need:
- Flexible operating funds.
- Sanitary, temporary housing to address shelter overflow and enable social distancing.
- Capacity to test those who enter and reside in shelter.
- Supplies and space to quarantine those who get the virus.
- PPE (personal protective equipment) for outreach and other direct service workers who will be in contact with individuals who contract the virus.
- The items in short supply for everyone – toilet paper, bottled water, hand sanitizer, and other forms of disinfectant.
Urban Ministry Center/Men’s Shelter of Charlotte has posted specific needs here. You can donate to the Salvation Army Center of Hope here. Mecklenburg County has secured hotel space to address this need and is collecting and disseminating short-term and long-term solutions weekly on the Housing Instability and Homelessness Dashboard.
UCITY Family Zone
From Mark DeHaven (Public Health Sciences):
The UCITY Family Zone is working with the hotels in the Sugar Creek/Reagan Dr. corridor where many low-income working people live, many of whom work in the food service industry and have been laid off. They are getting to a crisis situation where people can’t afford to pay their rents and are running out of food. WSOC ran a story about this and the food pantry nearby. The demand is far beyond the current capacity. The UCITY Family Zone is working on a grant to United Way, also in touch with Brian Collier at FFTC. They are operating 24 hours a day to support the families there. University City Foundation provides financial support for UCITY Family Zone. UCITY Family Zone is 60 civic organizations and 60 faith-based organizations. They are having check in calls every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. They need volunteers and also financial resources. Setting up a long term plan for addressing this. Mark can share more information on the volunteer opportunities. Brent Jones is the coordinator for volunteer opportunities.
- Donate to the University City Foundation: www.universitycityfoundationnc.org
-
Brent Jones: brent@stonebridge.org
Nadia Anderson (Architecture and Urban Design) has a class working on affordable housing from the system level. They have a challenge of being cut off from the community partners for now and it’s also a challenge of not having students gather in groups to complete this work. May be able to brainstorm some solutions for the immediate crisis and the next wave of longer term issues.
Food
Nicole Peterson (Anthropology) has been collecting food related opportunities and resources on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council’s facebook page: @cltfoodpolicy
commonwealthcharlotte.org has a fund for emergency relief for food service workers, which would include many of our students displaced from the industry.
From the UCITY Family Zone:
Care to Share Food Pantry:
Care to Share Food Pantry is planning to reopen their food pantry on May 4th and need 30 more volunteers immediately. They also have a need for donations of masks and gloves. Address: 5232 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28215 Bethel AME Church Time: 11:00am-2:00pm Contact: Ms. Hattie McNealy at 704-724-7789 (please have volunteers contact her) Helping Charles with Packing Meals and Sorting Donations: Mr. Charles Robinson of The Community Hub needs help 7 days a week packing hundreds of meals for distribution to families in crisis along Reagan Drive. They have expressed a real need for volunteers on weekends as well. Food distribution and transportation volunteer sign up link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b49adad2eaafd0-food UCITY Family Zone Meal Serving sign up link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b48aea82da6fc1-ucity Address: 333 Jeremiah Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28262 Time: 9:30-5pm Daily Contact: crob.comc@yahoo.com Heal Charlotte Weekday Breakfast Distribution: Heal Charlotte needs help serving breakfast at Orchard Trace Condominiums and to deliver to a point person at the motels at I-85 and Sugar Creek Road. Volunteers will meet in the parking lot at 216 Orchard Trace Lane, Charlotte, NC 28213. Volunteers please sign up using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0b4ea4ad29a4f58-heal1 Address: 216 Orchard Trace Lane, Charlotte, NC 28213 Time: 9:45am-11am Contact: onepeaceonemind@gmail.com
Education/Youth Development
University City-area schools
UCITY Family Zone is working with a number of community partners serving the University City Community in response to COVID-19. We are a collaborative, place-based initiative (PBI) empowering communities to increase opportunity and improve the quality of life. Currently, a lot of our initiatives are geared to addressing food insecurity, economic stability, spreading information about healthcare resources, and helping to ensure families have secured housing at this time. Our immediate volunteer needs are: The Townes- CMS Grab and Go Lunch Volunteers: Volunteers are needed immediately to pick up and deliver food to children at the Towns Apartment Complex. Sign Up Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e45a5ab28a02-3rdlocation Address: Pick up lunches from Governor’s Village STEM Academy located at 7810 Neal Rd, Charlotte, NC 28262, and deliver them to The Townes apartment complex at 336 Blackhawk Rd. Charlotte, NC 28213 Time: Food pick up at 11:40 am daily Contact: 704-596-2700 (Mary Orozco- the property manager) Maple Run- CMS Grab and Go Lunch Volunteers: Volunteers are needed immediately to pick up and deliver food to children at the Mapel Run Complex. Sign Up Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e45a5ab28a02-3rdlocation Address: Pick up lunches from Briarwood Elementary at 1001 Wilann Dr, Charlotte, NC 28215 and deliver them to the Maple Run apartment complex 2003 Canterwood Drive #7 Charlotte, NC 28213 Time: Food pick up at 11:15 am daily Contact: 704-596-6977 (Ms. Jennifer Aguilar- the property manager)
Pet Care
CMPD: Emergency Foster Pet Parents Needed
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Animal Care & Control Division is putting out a plea for emergency foster pet parents amid the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the agency says it needs 100 new foster homes “to ensure that no shelter pet lives are lost.” For more information, call Animal Care and Control at 704-336-7600 or visit the agency’s website.
The Humane Society of Greater Charlotte is encouraging adoptions — though what it’s calling “quarantine buddies” would need to be picked up on an appointment basis.
Support for Students
The Student Emergency Relief Fund is: https://sass.uncc.edu/services/student-emergency-relief-fund.