The Citizens Newsletter

Bad hair day? Snap a pic & donate to our #AtTheirService campaign to help NYC's service industry workers

• POST A PHOTO of your current quarantine look (c’mon, everyone’s doin’ it) and make sure to tag us @citizensnyc on Facebook, @citizenscommittee on Instagram, and @CitizensNYC on Twitter and use the hashtag #AtTheirService.
   
• DONATE what you would normally pay for a service to Citizens Committee’s small business COVID-19 response fund. Here's a handy donate link to include in your post: https://bit.ly/2KVB1vM
   
• NOMINATE 3 friends on social media to join our #AtTheirService campaign and share pics and stories

In honor of Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're highlighting API&, a Brooklyn-based group of self-identifying queer Asian Pacific Islanders who come together to center API identity by building community and healing. Established in 2015, API& is switching to online workshops amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As racial violence against Asian and Pacific Islanders increases, API& understands the need for a solid channel for online communications among its community members. At a recent online workshop, API& collaborated with a Vietnamese-American organization to create a safe forum for members to tell stories about individual traumas and ancestral trauma caused by war, poverty, immigration hardships, and interpersonal violence.

New grant program to help struggling West Side small businesses

Need a no-sew face mask? We've got your tutorial right here 

Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE) is a national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to serving food and beverage service employees with children, who are faced with life-altering circumstances, and are in need of help. As the world faces the biggest pandemic in our lifetime, they want to continue to honor their mission by providing support to food and beverage service employees, with children, who have been medically diagnosed with COVID-19. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

One Fair Wage is providing cash assistance to restaurant workers, delivery drivers, and other tipped and service workers who have been impacted by COVID-19. They will be making temporary cash gifts as funding becomes available. Apply now: The application is available in English and Spanish.

Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation has partnered with the Southern Smoke Foundation to create the Southern Smoke's Emergency Relief Program. It provides emergency funding to those employed by or who own restaurants or bars, or those employed by a restaurant or bar supplier, facing unforeseen expenses that insurance can't or won't cover. Apply now: The application is available in English and Spanish. 

During these uncertain times, the USBG National Charity Foundation strives to be a resource for the bar industry community. They're providing COVID-19 Relief Grant awards in the form of supplemental emergency aid of between $150 to $500. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Hallo and Scholly are teaming up to give away $5,000 in cash scholarships. A total of five students and recent graduates will win $1,000 each to be used toward any expense during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. As we all adjust to this new normal, they acknowledge the toll that this has taken on the student community and want to give back. This cash scholarship is designed to help students who need travel assistance, school supplies, online educational tools, or even shelter. Apply now: complete your first-round application.

Jahajee Sisters' Emergency Fund will support Indo-Caribbean women and gender-fluid people residing in New York who are in crisis and in need of immediate financial support. Funds can support the cost of food, baby items, child care, moving, temporary housing, attorney's fees, and emerging needs during COVID 19. If you or someone you know would like to submit a request for funds, please call 347-201-4931 or email JahajeeSisters@gmail.com. Click here for more information.

Skyler's Gift is working in partnership with the NYC Ramadan Relief Fund to provide grants for families of preemies who cannot work due to fear of COVID-19. Grants start at $1,500 and can be used for living expenses. If you live in one of the 5 boroughs of NYC, have a premature infant, and are unable to work due to COVID-19, please contact info@skylersgift.com. Click here for more information.

Zakat Fund of NYC is providing grants between $500 to $2,500. In some situations, beneficiaries may receive a maximum of $2,500 within a 12-month period. They also work with other service providers, charities, and city agencies to empower recipients in the best possible way. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Circle for Justice Innovations' SOS Rapid Response Fund has always provided flexible and immediate funding to organizations responding to changing political landscapes and working to build collective power at critical junctures. SOS will continue to respond to crisis and opportunities through grants between $2,500 to $5,000 giving priority to organizing that responds to opportunities or dangers affecting the health, safety, or human rights of incarcerated and directly impacted people based on COVID-19 policies or practices. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Urgent Action Fund’s Rapid Response Grants resource the resilience of human rights and gender justice movements by supporting the security and advocacy interventions of activists when a swift response is needed. Rapid Response Grants offer quick, flexible funding up to $8,000 to respond to security threats or unexpected advocacy opportunities experienced by women, transgender, or gender non-conforming, activists and human rights defenders. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis. 

Groundswell supports organizations on the front lines, defending the most vulnerable communities with timely, flexible grants ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 with an emphasis on funding in states and communities where women of color, transgender people of color, and low-income women and trans people-led organizing is under-resourced. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

The Brooklyn Community Foundation recognizes that as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to intensify locally, it will have disproportionate health, economic, and social impacts on communities of color at the margins of power and access. The Brooklyn COVID-19 Response Fund will prioritize support for nonprofits, with grants of up to $10,000, that work toward racial equity, are led by members of affected communities, and center the voices of those directly impacted by structural racism in decision-making. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Robin Hood is awarding COVID-19 relief fund grants to 501(c)(3) organizations in New York City that are well-positioned to serve low-income communities. The initial grants will average $45,000. The purpose of these grants is to provide resources to support nonprofits that are on the front lines and can move swiftly to serve affected communities. Apply now: Applications accepted on a rolling basis.

Voices for Healthy Kids is supporting COVID-19 response and relief efforts with funding, up to $50,000 to meet the immediate needs as defined by the communities they serve. Preference will be given to community-based organizations with demonstrated experiences working to build power in communities most impacted by health inequities, including Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian and Alaskan Native, or children living in families with low-income. Apply now: Applications due by May 25.

"The Opportunity Challenge: $1 Million to Uplift Immigrant Communities" is a joint initiative of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and the Tarsadia Foundation, which seeks to surface impactful, community-led solutions to the obstacles that make it difficult for immigrants and refugees to achieve their goals. The COVID-19 crisis and related economic disruptions will disproportionately impact those who are most vulnerable in our communities: immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and their families. Apply now: Applications due by May 26.

Equality Labs: As part of their work to combat disinformation during COVID-19 and equip communities with the tools they need, Equality Labs created a medically-vetted series of COVID-19 information cards in English and in an  array of South Asian languages. Disinformation during COVID-19 is more than just fake news, it can mean life or death in terms of how people take care of themselves and their loved ones. 

Food Bank For New York City: During this COVID-19 pandemic, Food Bank is taking proactive steps to safely provide food and other resources for New Yorkers. As the city’s leading hunger-relief organization, they stand prepared to provide emergency food to vulnerable New Yorkers who may be quarantined, along with those impacted by the economic downturn. Search their map to find a soup kitchen, food pantry, senior center, or SNAP enrollment site near you.

JASA is one of New York’s largest and most trusted agencies serving older adults. Their goal is to keep seniors living safely in their own homes and communities with independence, dignity, and joy, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. They provide social services, resources, and activities for older adults including home care, meals, mental health, and more.

New York Public Library is offering a wide array of online resources for young learners from Pre-K to high school and their parents and caretakers. Virtual services include homework help from one-on-one tutors in English and Spanish, reading resources for kids of all ages, and engaging activities for youth to do at home.

NYC Well is your connection to free, confidential mental health support. Speak to a counselor via phone, text, or chat and get access to mental health and substance use services, in more than 200 languages, 24/7/365.

Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) hosted a webinar on facilitating video meetings. Knowing how to hold engaging online meetings that help build relationships and center human connection is critical to advancing collective work to build community power. You can watch the recording of the webinar here and access the presentation slides here.

New York Botanical Garden: During challenging times, the power of plants connects people and provides inspiration more than ever. While the Garden’s gates may be closed temporarily, their virtual gates are wide open. Stay connected with NYBG at Home, a new content hub featuring videos, plant guides, virtual events, recipes for kids, and more. As spring unfolds, they'll bring you the color and brightness of the season, a reminder of how the natural world brings us joy.

Lunch with GreenThumb: GreenThumb is going virtual for a series of lunchtime workshops including topics on Native Ferns and Grasses for City Gardens, Communication for Group Germination, Intro to Fruit Tree Grafting, Design Your Garden To Attract Pollinators, Marvelous Mushrooms, and more. Webinars will be streamed throughout the month of May from noon-1 p.m.