United Way of West Florida, which serves Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, recently thanked the community for contributing nearly $1 million to special COVID-19 and Hurricane Sally relief funds this year, and so far more than $272,000 has been distributed to local charities.
The COVID-19 Response fund was disbursed in two phases to UWWF certified partners via a grant process in which 14 agencies which serve both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties received a total of $272,907. Of those monies, $46,038 was distributed to three agencies which exclusively serve Santa Rosa County: Outreach Navarre, Santa Rosa Kids House and Interfaith Ministries.
“To ensure that these dollars were put to work quickly and to minimize the burden on non-profits that were already struggling with capacity, we did not ask agencies to track demographic information. They were to verify that the need for assistance was COVID related and that the individual(s) was a resident of either Escambia or Santa Rosa county,” said UWWF CEO Laura Gilliam.
Following is the list of the contributions agencies received from the COVID-19 relief fund via UWWF:
Outreach Navarre – $13883
Santa Rosa Kids House – $5,000
Interfaith Ministries – $27,155
Big Brothers Big Sister – $16,358
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tri-State – $5,120
Catholic Charities – $22,500
Children’s Home Society – $7,500
Covenant Hospice – $22,500
Epilepsy Florida – $17,000
Feeding the Gulf Coast – $17,000
Legal Services of North Florida – $11,125
Manna – $38,900
Salvation Army – $30,796
Community Health NWFL – $18,170
According to Gilliam, the application process for the Hurricane Sally relief fund opened about two weeks ago.
“Any non-profit organization helping survivors recover is eligible to apply. The deadline for grant applications from agencies is January 8,” said Gilliam. “Grants will be distributed to agencies to assist survivors of Hurricane Sally and agencies also may apply for assistance with damage to their facilities as a result of the hurricane.”
Additionally, Gilliam said funds will be available through a different process to the unmet needs committees of the Long-Term Recovery Groups in both counties.
Contact UWWF at 850-434-3157 for more details.
