For months, parents and educators were worried whether or not schools would be able to reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the summer months, local schools took it upon themselves to plan and secure supplies to make classrooms as safe as possible. One of those schools taking a proactive approach was Black Hawk Elementary in Kahoka, Missouri.

Principal Betsy Parrish applied for a grant through the COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Fund at the Community Foundation in July and was awarded grant dollars to be used for student's health and safety.

"We were able to purchase chair back pockets for multiple classrooms, plastic pencil boxes to carry supplies, individual pencil sharpeners, individual dry erase markers and erasers, and a lot of hand sanitizer," said Parrish. "I also ordered 3M hooks so that teachers could hang student's backpacks and jackets from their desks so they wouldn't congregate at the coat hooks."

While returning to school during a pandemic may not feel normal, having safety supplies and resources on hand certainly helps ease the anxiety many families were and still are facing. 

Anxiety and uncertainty are two words to describe the feeling in the healthcare industry when COVID-19 cases began increasing. Local hospitals and clinics prepared for the worst and were unsure what to expect. In preparation, Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois sought ways to both keep patients safe from the impending virus and reduce barriers for those accessing care for other illnesses. 

“Learning to treat clients in the transition was necessary to provide safe care for our clients who were immunocompromised or at greater risk for complications,” said Mary Jane Clark, Director of the West Central Illinois Area Health Education Centers. 

In an effort to serve all patients in a safe and healthy way, Clark applied for and received a grant from the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Fund to assist with these efforts.

“The grant funding allowed the Memorial Medical Clinics to rent a tent for outside of our building for immediate lab draws when fears and anxieties were highest as the pandemic restrictions began to impact these critical services,” said Clark. 

And although it may have looked different than the traditional healthcare setting it proved to be the perfect solution to create peace-of-mind for both patients and providers. 

With families struggling to put food on the table, area food pantries have served as a life-line during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, food pantries have been tackling their own set of issues as well. Over the last couple months, the food pantry at Douglass Community Services in Hannibal saw not only an increase in users, but first time clients as well. In fact, organizers say 53% of food pantry clients in April were first time users.

"This fact reflects the number of families who are suffering from the economic effects of COVID-19," said Douglass Community Services CEO Stephanie Cooper.

In response to the unprecedented number of clients, Douglass Community Services reached out the Community Foundation and was subsequently granted funding in order to provide more food, more resources, and more assistance to help the growing number of families coming in.

"As local resources were restricting use and hours, the support from the Community Foundation enables the food pantry at Douglass Community Services to meet local hunger needs," said Cooper.

The food pantry at Douglass Community Services remains open, serving the community. This June, the food pantry provided commodities to 408 families, the largest number of families in more than eight months. With the future still uncertain, volunteers and employees will still be there, rolling up their sleeves, providing meals through these uncertain times. 

Pre-pandemic, about half of U.S. families reported having trouble finding care for a young child. That number jumped to nearly two-thirds this past spring as day cares closed and caretakers, such as grandparents and nannies, were told to stay home. 

As families adjusted to at-home schooling, many others deemed "essential" were told to continue working, leading to a child-care crisis like we've never seen before. 

The YMCA of Hannibal saw a gap of childcare needs in the area. With the help of a grant provided by the Community Foundation's COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Fund, organizers then created a plan to watch children during needed hours and provid areas to allow for physical distancing between students.    

"Funding provided by the Community Foundation were used to cover expenses related to our Emergency Childcare Program provided for medical professionals, first responders and other essential workers of the community between March 23 - May 29, 2020, a time when schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic," said Kara Viorel with the YMCA of Hannibal. " These expenses consisted of worker salaries and supply costs."

The Village of the Blue Rose in Clarksville, Missouri provides a living and working community for adults with developmental disabilities. 

Nestled along the picturesque Mississippi River, the Village provides 60 acres of safe-space for seven young adults to live, learn, and work in a loving family-type environment as the residents not only live on-site, but also work at an onsite restaurant, flea market, antique shop, and B&B rooms in the lodge.

In March, operations at the Village were turned upside-down as COVID-19 caused the closure of the restaurant, B&B rooms, as well as the shops where the residents work. 

“As with many others, we were shocked that a tiny virus could close down all of our operations,” said Acting Executive Director Mary Grenfell. ”Our residents were shocked too as they suddenly lost their daily routine and income.” 

With income dropping close to zero, Grenfell applied and received a grant from the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Fund. 

“Every little bit helps us continue to provide the home-work environment that many of our residents have known for almost twenty years,” said Grenfell. 

Today, operations remain changed and limited, but organizers have re-opened the restaurant and B&B rooms which allows for a dose of normalcy around the Village. However, things are far from being how they were before. Grenfell says funding solely depends on the generosity and philanthropy of those in the community.