Thank you for caring and giving
How and why we need your help:
CAMBA has already spent over $300,000 to address expenses related to COVID-19, and we need to fundraise to meet additional expenses in the weeks and months ahead.
Providing children in homeless shelters with secure access to remote learning:
One of our immediate concerns is the lack of consistent internet access for the approximately 650 school-aged children living in our five family shelters. While the NYC DOE has provided WiFi enabled iPads, the internet connectivity in the family shelters has proven to be inadequate for remote learning in these large buildings. We are working on wiring our five family homeless shelters but need to raise funds to support the $49,000 needed per month for internet service fees.
Meeting the need for emergency food:
We are planning for the expected spike in food insecurity and hunger as folks lose their jobs, and/or hours are cut back. Our Emergency Food pantry provides over 36,000 3-day food supplies every year which averages to feeding more than 3,000 hungry New Yorkers each month. Our pantry remains open two days per week. We are projecting the same or greater demand will be evident starting in April and running through and perhaps beyond September. We expect to need an additional $75,000 to get us through 2020.
Maintaining the full complement of 24/7 Essential Workers in our shelters and housing:
Another current challenge is keeping the 24/7 essential staff healthy, willing and able to work at CAMBA’s shelters and supportive housing developments that must remain open. Security guards and maintenance workers risk their lives every day on the front-lines during this health emergency, and CAMBA must find creative ways to show their gratitude as they are bound to public grants that don’t allow offering bonuses. Incentive pay is a complex, longer term solution. Meanwhile, the employment market is growing increasingly competitive for essential workers. Nonprofits like CAMBA are at high risk of losing staff to private sector employers who can afford immediate hazard pay. That is why we are asking you to help us support our brave and necessary staff by providing them with bonuses in the form of gift cards, Uber/Lyft cards, and grocery store cards. Our goal is to raise $100,000 for incentives for 500+ essential workers for the next three months. Click here to help.
Click here to give to our COVID-19 fund.
If your company has an emergency fund, or you know friends or colleagues who are looking to give back to the community, please recommend CAMBA, or send an email to Kathy de Meij, SVP of Strategic Partnerships, who will reach out. Kathy can be reached at kathleend@camba.org or 917-562-2240.