To help address immediate needs exacerbated by the Coronavirus across the Inland Valley region, Bank of America has so far directed $577,500 in grants to 21 Inland Empire nonprofits. The local nonprofits are addressing the immediate needs of:
Hunger: Food assistance and meal deliveries for vulnerable households.
Shelter: Emergency housing services and rental assistance.
Emergency Relief: Funds to help with costs of utilities, childcare, infant needs, healthcare and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical workers.
With the closure of schools and food distribution sites due to the virus, Feeding America of Riverside & San Bernardino alone distributed over 54,000 meals in just one week and added twice-weekly emergency food distributions across the Inland Empire as staff regularly clock as much as ten hours of overtime weekly to keep up with demand. Additional hunger-related organizations awarded grants include: Food in Need of Distribution; Desert AIDS Project; Galilee Center; Martha’s Village & Kitchens; Cove Communities Senior Association and Mizell Center.
Nonprofit shelter providers awarded grants include: Coachella Valley Rescue Mission; Foothill Family Shelter; Mary’s Mercy Center; and Operation Safe House.
Among these Covid-19 emergency relief funds include those established by nonprofits Arrowhead United Way; Children’s Fund; Lift to Rise Coachella Valley; Time for Change Foundation; United Ways of the Desert and Inland Valleys; Catholic Charities of San Bernardino & Riverside counties; and Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino county. The Loma Linda University Medical Center and San Antonio Hospital Foundation also received grants for PPE, sanitizing equipment and clinical care support.
“Together with the Inland Empire’s tremendous nonprofits, the private sector is working to help address the new demand and challenges created by this unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis,” said Al Arguello, Bank of America Inland Empire market president.
