More planned grants from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham COVID-19 Community Response Fund

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) -

Back in March, The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, along with the United way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham, partnered to create a COVID-19 Community Response Fund. Together, the organizations have raised more than $500,000 and have given out about 40 grants to local non-profits in need.

Ann Siciliano is the Director of Program Services at The Community Foundation. She says the fund has distributed five rounds of grants since March. The most recent, was in August.

Those grants focused on non-profits that helped the community with food, shelter, mental health and child care.

Siciliano says the committee plans to meet at the end of January, to discuss the criteria and focus on the last round of grants. This final round will distribute the remaining $68,000 in the fund.

“There are still many individuals in the community who are struggling to have enough food to put on the table, many who are still struggling to pay rent because they’ve lost jobs or have reduced hours, and so it’s really critical that these nonprofits continue to be able to help” Siciliano says.

She says the goal is to hopefully give out the last round of grants in early February. In the mean time, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham COVID-19 Response Fund is still accepting donations. To donate, visit: https://www.tcfhr.org/covid-19/

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