With fundraising down and the need for a variety of community assistance way up, the Executive Director of WeCare Family Support Center issued an urgent appeal this week.
“We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation and pray for your well-being and health, said Rob Lowenthal, Executive Director. “As you can imagine, many individuals and families in our community have been significantly impacted by this health crisis and subsequent economic upheaval. Local and state stay-at-home orders have increased the number of people in our community who are experiencing a reduction in work hours or a lay-off.”
“Not surprisingly, over the past three weeks, the number of calls to We Care has increased by 45%, from individuals and families who can no longer put food on the table, pay rent, or pay their utilities,” the official said in a fundraising appeal.
In addition, he said We Care’s food bank relies on the generous contributions from schools and churches, which hold food drives throughout the year. “With the closures of these organizations, our food pantry resources are becoming stretched. As an example, we are now limiting families to two bags of groceries instead of the usual three bags,” he noted.
“Now more than ever, our services are needed during this time of uncertainty to meet the emergency needs in our community,” said Lowenthal. “With generous support from donors like you, We Care can continue to provide targeted critical safety-net services for vulnerable individuals and families in our community.”
“At We Care, we assess every individual and family to identify needs and provide immediate relief when necessary, followed by the care that combines food, rent/mortgage assistance, case management, and other critical services,” he added.
Lowenthal said the nonprofit is experiencing an unprecedented challenge as theyu face the COVID-19 health crisis. He said the donation will help We Care to meet the needs of individuals and families in our community.
“Please support us by donating money, food items such as, peanut butter, jelly, canned pasta meals (chef boy ardee), beef stew, canned fruit, refried beans, chili, pasta sauce, ramen, cereal, instant potatoes, and hamburger helper,” requested Lowenthal.
Those wanting to help or receive more information can visit www.wecarelosalamitos.org.