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Welcome to the Karsh Center Newsletter. As communities around the world face the coronavirus pandemic, we are doing our best to stay connected within parameters that require us to be distant. In that vein, the Karsh Center is still open. We've seen demand for our services spike in recent weeks — and we're as committed as ever to caring for our neighbors. Read on for an update from Executive Director Lila Guirguis, and for positive messages from our work throughout Los Angeles.
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Message from the Executive Director
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Dear Friends of the Karsh Center,
I am writing with the hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Our small but mighty team has been hard at work — shifting our services to actively and immediately meet the needs of those who are most vulnerable in this time of crisis, from the unemployed to the immunocompromised.
A recent survey of Karsh Center client households revealed more than 80 percent of them have either lost a job or are living on reduced income because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Our clients are struggling with numerous challenges, but with every heartbreaking story, there is one of strength, resilience, and heartfelt gratitude. Just this week, I spoke with a pregnant woman who is due this Saturday. She's nervous to go just about anywhere, and teared up when we gave her groceries, diapers, and a baby bag filled with bottles, onesie, blanket and baby food. This is powerful and meaningful work.
Below you’ll find more stories from our Karsh Center team, collaborators, and the communities we are so proud to serve. Together we will get through this, one day at a time.
Lila Guirguis
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Delivering Groceries to Seniors in Need
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Since mid-March, the Karsh Center has partnered with the Koreatown Youth and Community Center to deliver 100 bags of groceries each week to senior citizens. Earlier this month, we began working with the Sam Simon Foundation to deliver an additional 100 vegan bags. We completed our first grocery pickup with the Foundation on April 10. Thanks to former Wilshire Boulevard Temple Board President Julie Miller for connecting us!
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Helping Ready to Succeed Students at USC
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Ready to Succeed LA (RTS) works with students who have aged out of foster care by mentoring them into college and throughout their college career. Many of these students have no option but to self-isolate in college housing during this crisis, because they do not have viable alternatives. On April 3, we prepared and delivered bags filled with healthy food, toilet paper and toiletries to RTS students at USC. In response, Ready to Succeed leadership told us this: "Those students, who have no family to look after them during these hard times, saw angels when you appeared!"
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Our recent work received recognition on KTLA's "Link Up with Lynette" segment, which takes a moment to "shine a light on all things good."
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As our City and State moved closer to the Stay-at-Home order last month, the Karsh Center team realized that many of our core services, such as dental and vision care, would be sidelined, and the ability of our staff and volunteers to work in the Center would be impacted by safety and social distancing concerns. In this new environment, we immediately reallocated our staff, volunteers and financial resources to help meet the incredible growth in demand for essentials such as food, personal hygiene items, and diapers. Our emergency response has reached those who need it the most, with the overall volume of goods distributed on a weekly basis growing exponentially over pre-COVID 19 levels. The following infographic helps tell the story:
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