This Week's Resources
Rethink Food - partnering feeding programs with restaurants and chefs
Green Light Webinar for Spanish-speakers taking driving exams
As always, if you have something to share, contact SK Doyle, our Associate Director of Programs & Volunteers. These posts will be a collaboration between SK and Amalia Vavala, Associate Director of Development and Operations, and you can always reach out to her as well.
And once again, as we continue to add to the blog, you'll be able to explore resources by using the tags at the bottom of these posts!
Rethink Food
Rethink is a nonprofit that develops practical models to distribute meals to nourish communities in our communities. While they are currently located in the Bronx and Manhattan only, they are rapidly building a network of restaurants, chefs, and more to provide nutritious meals for communities impacted by food insecurity.
Some of our programs already partner with Rethink, and you can contact Rethink for more information about getting restaurant-quality foods to your feeding program here.
Green Light Webinar
Green Light is a webinar series that helps Spanish speakers prepare for driver's license testing. The webinar is Spanish-language only and can be found at the Worker Justice Center of NY's website here.
Careers at We Are Not Afraid Community Resource Center
We Are Not Afraid Community Resource Center (WANA), housed in St. Mary's Church, Harlem, is looking for a Director of Development and Communications and a Social Work Supervisor. To learn more and apply, visit their website here. Please forward to anyone you think might be a good fit for the role!
Find a Cooling Center Near You
As the current heatwave continues, certain demographics are at high risk for suffering from heatstroke and exhaustion, including those experiencing housing insecurity and senior citizens. Cooling sites and centers help mitigate the effects of high temperatures and provide public places to cool off. You can find New York City cooling centers here. New York State has not published an official list of state-run cooling centers, but you can contact your local officials via the numbers here.
If you have any additional information about cooling centers outside of New York City, please contact SK!
$100 Vaccine Referral Bonuses for Churches [NYC]
Churches that register with New York City are eligible to receive $100 for each person who receives their first COVID-19 shot at a city-run site and says they were referred by the particular church.
You can learn more and apply for the program here.
New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program
Funding is currently available through ERAP for New York City households who are behind in their rent. Eligible low and moderate-income households can get up to 12 months of their back rent paid, three months of future rent, and other assistance.
Residents of New York City are eligible if they:
Fell behind in rent since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 AND
Qualified for unemployment benefits or have lost income and/or have an increase in expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic; AND
Have a monthly gross (before tax) household income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
This is a great resource to share with clients experiencing housing insecurity. Applications and more information can be found here, and if you need iPads to help clients apply onsite, please contact SK!
Bulk Buy Application
Our Bulk Buy program aggregates demand to allow programs to order in-demand foods like fresh produce, proteins, and culturally relevant foods for free. To apply for this program, fill out the form here.
Sustainability Institutes: SNAP Training and COVID Community Conversations
On August 26th from 2-5 pm, we're partnering with the Food Bank of NYC to provide SNAP Benefits Training as a Sustainability Institute. This training is not city-specific, so all programs are welcome to register. You can do so on our Sustainability Institute page here.
On September 30th from 3:30 to 5 pm, we're partnering with the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene to hold a Community Conversation about COVID-19 and Mental Health. Programs of all types can benefit from this discussion! You can register on our Sustainability Institute page here.
As a reminder, EC grantee programs are required to attend three (3) online or one (1) in-person and one (1) virtual workshop. The two above workshops count as 2 credits.
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That's all for this week -- thanks for all you do!