Beginning February 2020, Catholic Community Services, an essential health and human services organization, quickly adapted to the new COVID-19 pandemic protocols while also handling increasing demand for services and expanding programs to include telehealth and food boxes for vulnerable populations. In order to keep its customers safe and services uninterrupted, CCS staff, along with many dedicated volunteers, has worked tirelessly to ensure essential programs continue to operate safely and efficiently through these challenging and unpredictable circumstances.
Catholic Community Services wishes to acknowledge and thank the following foundations for their recent monetary and in-kind contributions to COVID-19 relief expenses:
- United Way Microgrant – PPE, cleaning supplies for 24-hour care facilities
- United Way/Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Rent and mortgage assistance
- Oregon Community Foundation – Additional staff, salaries, cleaning supplies, transportation
- Salem Foundation/Larry and Jeanette Epping Family Foundation – Food, emergency assistance
- Maps Community Foundation – PPE and supplies
- Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians – Emergency food
- Marion Polk Early Learning Hub – Funds for diapers, wipes, formula
- Oregon Health Authority – COVID awareness, wraparound supports, contact tracing
- Farm to Families, USDA – Food boxes
- Safe Families for Children, National Office/Sanders Charitable Grant Fund – Care packages for families
- PacificSource Foundation for Health Improvement – Assistance for community counseling
Catholic Community Services CEO Josh Graves expressed his gratitude on behalf of the many dedicated frontline staff and hundreds of people served saying, “The dedication our partners, both large and small, have to our mission is apparent through their willingness to step up with rapid funding to keep experienced staff on board, hire new staff to help meet increased demand for services, provide emergency food boxes and develop and supply new health and safety measures throughout the entire organization.”
While grants have enabled CCS to meet the immediate needs to its staff and customers during the early stages of the pandemic, these new safety and health protocols are intricate and expensive and require sustained funding to implement and maintain. CCS hopes to continue its current partnerships and actively seeks to develop new institutional funding partners and private donors to ensure it can meet the increased demand for its programs.