Boston and Beyond Social Support + Donations during COVID19

It’s easy to feel entirely overwhelmed during times of crisis. Feeling crippled by fear and anxiety, having no idea what to do or where to start. While it’s simply impossible to donate to every cause, I’ve started compiling a list for Boston locals on places to start. If you have additional places to donate, please let me know if the comments below to add to the post!

Free food options in Boston

• For a full list of schools still offering lunches, click here
• Free Lunch buffet for Boston students Tuesday – Friday
  • 11:30-2:30pm The breakfast spot – 2805 Washington st, Roxbury MA 02119
  • 7:30-10am –
    • North end: gassy park / Defillippo playground (135 Prince st 02113)
    • Charlestown – boys and girls club – 60 green st 02129)
    • Dorchester – 370 columbia rd, Dorchester MA 02125 (food and nutrition service central distrubtion warehouse (loading dock on quincy st)
    • East boston – YMCA, 215 bremen st, east boston, MA 02128
  • Meals provided for lunch and dinner starting march 15^th
    • Lunch 12-2pm
    • Dinner 5pm-8pm
    • Drop off location: 651 Warrant St, Boston, MA, 02121
    • Donate online: paypal.me/violenceinboston
      • Items needed: toiletries, paper towels, tissues, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, toilet paper
    • My Brother’s Table – meals available to friends and neighbors Monday through Friday 11:45-12:30 and 5:30-7:15, and weekends 2:30-4:15

Donations

• donate MONEY to the greater Boston food bank! I’m personally donating to Ashley’s account because Tito’s will match $5,000!!! They receive discounts on bulk orders so it’s a better use of people’s resources 🙂 and keeps social distancing in place
• No Kid Hungry: national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.
• Heading Home: leading provider of housing and support services for families with children and individuals
• Rosie’s Place: helping poor and homeless women in the Boston area
• Project Bread: Not only feeding hungry people today, but working to break the cycle of hunger through access, advocacy, and education.
• Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House: to strengthen and empower youth, families, and community residents aimed to address the economic, social, and political inequities that hsape the lives an futures of Cambridge area residents
• Boston Resiliency Fund: provide food for children and seniors, technology for remote learning for students, and support to first responders and healthcare workers.
• Feeding America

For Restaurants / Hospitality Workers

• Emergency Fund for Boston Area Service Workers – GoFundMe page here
• This fundraiser specifically helps Cambridge and Somerville hospitality workers
• This fundraiser was started by The teams at Porto, Saloniki and Trade have joined forces with Off Their Plate  & World Central Kitchen  to raise money for a cause that is near and dear to our hearts. We’ve create a fund to provide meals to Boston’s frontline healthcare workers and displaced restaurant employees  during this difficult time. 100% of donations will go directly to employing team members and  purchasing materials to provide up to 300 meals per day for those effected. 
• Off Their Plate provides economic relief to local frontline workers. Their work creates a conduit for local communities to provide nutritious meals to the hospital teams we depend on and economic relief to local workers who have been affected by COVID.
• Restaurant Strong Fund: supports those from America’s restaurant industry who have been impacted by the Covid-19 closures.
• Buy This T-shirt: supports restaurant partners across 20 US states. They also provide support to small, local manufacturing businesses with our 100% cotton tees, made with love.

Local to Bostonians 

• A list of Boston resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15GYuPYEzBk9KIyH3C3419aYxIMVAsa7BL7nBl9434Mg/htmlview
• A mutual aid form for Somerville / Medford locals: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsdGeYXv0cH3TxrMQSBp9A0h9dghnVzl_FajnZdVVAUF2WVg/viewform

For food security outside of Boston

• Philly: donate to the food trust
• New York: donate to NY Common Pantry for family meals or Coalition for the Homeless
• Cherrybombe has posted multiple resources for small businesses in the food service and agriculture sector
• Call senators to encourage passing of HR 6201 Families first coronavirus response act, and I think it may be helpful to call house representatives to support expansion of SNAP benefits

Other Resources

• Resources for Older Adults: National Council on Aging has put together a list of information and resources for older adults and caregivers that they’ll be continuously updating as they discover more resources and helpful information
• Hospitality/Food+Bev
  • Jameson Donated $500k to the US Bartenders Guild National Charitable Foundation https://wmmr.com/2020/03/16/jameson-donates-500k-to-united-states-bartenders-guild-emergency-grants-program/
  • Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: Resources for Restaurants and Workers coping with the COVID-19 Emergency https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/news/2020/3/15/resources-for-restaurants-and-workers-coping-with-the-covid-19-emergency
    • Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation Crisis Relief Fund: https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/news/2020/3/15/restaurant-workers-community-foundation-announces-the-formation-of-restaurant-workers-covid19-crisis-relief-fund
  • How to Help the Hospitality Industry During COVID-19 Bar Closures (via imbibemagazine.com) https://imbibemagazine.com/how-to-help-the-hospitality-industry-during-covid-19-closures/
  • A List of Relief Funds for Restaurants, Bars and Food Service Workers (compiled by EATER) https://www.eater.com/2020/3/17/21182293/coronavirus-relief-funds-restaurants-food-service-workers
  • ONE FAIR WAGE – Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund https://ofwemergencyfund.org/
  • A Useful List of Bar and Restaurant Relief Funds During the Coronavirus Crisis (compiled on Binwise.com) https://home.binwise.com/blog/bar-restaurant-relief-funds-covid-19
• Healthcare/Human Services
  • Center for Disaster Philanthropy – COVID-19 Response Fund https://disasterphilanthropy.org/cdp-fund/cdp-covid-19-response-fund/
  • National Domestic Workers Alliance – Coronavirus Care Fund https://www.domesticworkers.org/
• Artists/Entertainment
  • COVID-19 Emergency Funding and Artist Resources (compiled by I CARE IF YOU LISTEN blog) https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2020/03/covid-19-emergency-funding-artist-resources/
  • List of Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak (compiled by Creative Capital https://creative-capital.org/2020/03/13/list-of-arts-resources-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/
  • COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/
  • MusiCares – COVID-19 Relief Fund https://www.grammy.com/musicares/get-help/musicares-coronavirus-relief-fund
  • COVID-19 Fund @ Sweet Relief https://www.sweetrelief.org/covid-19-fund.html