United Way of Greater Newark to Set Up and Emergency Fund to Assist Residents Affected by the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus

March 17, 2020, Newark, NJ— Catherine Wilson, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Newark (UWGN), announced today that the organization has taken the lead in setting up a Community COVID-19 Fund. The purpose of this fund will be to respond to community needs as we anticipate the spread of the COVID-19 virus across the City of Newark and surrounding communities. United Way of Greater Newark has long been an organization that has stepped up during times of natural disasters and most recently for the City of Newark and the lead crisis.

 “United Way of Greater Newark has long served the community in times of need and disaster and COVID-19 is no different. We created this fund to help residents, non-profits and other impacted sectors in our footprint face the economic, social and emotional challenges expected as a result of this public health crisis. United Way of Greater Newark will continue to serve as a leader in the region to connect partners, donors and services to each other as we strive to lessen the impact of COVID-19” stated Wilson.

United Way of Greater Newark has the technical capacity to run a disaster fund for the community of this scale.  UWGN has convened conversations with partners in our collaboratives as well as partners who provide social service relief to vulnerable populations.  UWGN also follows the guidelines established by FEMA including preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery.

“We know incidents of the mental health crisis, domestic violence, homelessness, job loss, child abuse, and food insecurity will increase over the next several weeks and months as we work to contain and mitigate the virus. At United Way of Greater Newark, we’re taking the lead with our non-profit and funding partners to respond. It’s going to take all of us standing side by side to overcome this crisis. We hope you will join us in Living United,” Wilson said.

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