County United Way officials are reaching out to find more community partners to support projects focused on serving the needs of the region. One way to volunteer is to find those who are interested in stocking little pantries across the tri-state area with hygiene items. Currently there are little pantries located in in Piedmont, Short Gap, South Cumberland, George’s Creek, Westernport, and Romney which include basic needs items that are not available through SNAP assistance, Those items including personal hygiene, baby, and paper products, as well as cleaning supplies. Food donations are better directed to indoor food pantries and discouraged from placement due to weather conditions and potential health hazards. According to County United Way Executive Director Juli McCoy the pantries have remained stocked since their installation, thanks to local organizations and community groups, with special attention given through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Women’s Action Coalition (WAC) has collected and placed over 1,000 items since 2019 at the George’s Creek Library and AHEC West has contributed over 600 items in Cumberland. McCoy says the number of products distributed in the other areas is unknown, but it can be assumed those numbers are great thanks to individual donations and other collections. With needs ongoing and tragic information coming from the most recent ALICE report regarding struggling households in the region, this project remains at the top of United Way’s focus to provide for those in need.
Any businesses, community groups, and churches who wish to collaborate with United Way and begin official collections for little pantries are welcome to participate. Collection coordination and stocking activity will be coordinated through United Way in an effort to respond more efficiently to the need. For more information about serving as an official little pantry collection group, please contact County United Way at 301-722-2700.
Another way County United Way is serving the community is through Live United grants. The funding serves as an investment into the needs of the community across the region. McCoy says grant opportunities exist on a quarterly basis and continued funding may be considered for additional quarterly funding of programs that show need and success.
Funding Considerations Maximum funding requests in Allegany County = $1,500 Maximum funding requests in Garrett, Hampshire and Mineral Counties = $500
To find out more log on to http://cuw.org/live-united-grants/ or at http://cuw.org/covid-19-response/
To hear the interview with Juli McCoy click here https://soundcloud.com/amanda-mangan/juli-mccoy-county-united-way-alice-study-for-pht