Our Statement on Racism, Inequality and Segregation

 

 

At the Community Foundation of Lorain County, we are not only witness to the depth and range of emotions in our community, we are feeling those ourselves. As part of our response to the sense of crisis in our community, we have been very proactive raising and distributing our Lorain County COVID-19 Response Fund. The needs today, however, go beyond the virus that has been the focal point of so much of 2020. The national and global protests around the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery among others have sharpened our focus surrounding police action and has risen our consciousness and brought into clarity the systemic issues of racism. We feel a deep sense of mission to support our local partners and community members in the call for additional assistance in this fight against Racism, Inequality and Segregation.

Over the past five years, our staff and Board have been through training to deepen our understanding of and commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. This is a lens through which we evaluate grant proposals and consider funding.  We stand firmly with our partners focused on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity through several ongoing efforts. Yet we know there is much more work ahead.  It is not enough to stand with our partners; we are compelled to take action.  We will do more.

Our Community Engagement Committee invested in south Lorain and celebrated the Caravana and census work on Saturday, June 6th. As a community asset and convener, we are engaging our partners at the Urban League, the YWCA, and local NAACP chapters to craft action responses across communities. We support the Lorain County Board of Commissioners declaration of Racism as a public health crisis. We are compelled to provide resources and funding for training and education with and for our above mentioned partners and others at the Racial Equity Institute.  We recognize disparities today in education, health, and income. We acknowledge and stand with so many others responding to these circumstances and engaging this challenge.
 

 Will you join us?

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us on June 17th, for our 2020 Virtual
Annual Meeting. Our annual meeting was an opportunity to celebrate what makes our community special – connecting people who care with causes that matter. 

Congratulations to all of our 2020 scholarship recipients. On June 19th we honored students and their families during our Drive-Thru Celebration. We awarded 139 scholarships to 64 new students and 75 renewals totaling almost $400K. 

Read more in this article in the Morning Journal. 

• Emergency Assistance/Basic Needs (including assistance to our senior population) 

• Education and Youth Services (including arts & culture programs) 

• Infrastructure (including digital inclusion) 

All partners are encouraging individual donors, companies, additional funders, and organizations to contribute to the Lorain County COVID-19 Response Fund via peoplewhocare.org. Donations of any amount are welcome, and all contributions qualify as charitable deductions. The group is actively seeking additional partners to contribute to the fund.

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When the COVID-19 crisis hit, the Lorain Public Library System was shocked by the lack of digital inclusion in every user group that libraries traditionally serve. LPLS is working to provide connections to the unconnected through the grant received from the COVID-19 Response Fund. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis is forcing organizations who serve the public, libraries included, to take a hard look at programs and services. During the time the doors were closed the LPLS was able to offer a curbside pickup service because they understand how vital it is to the community to have access to books during the time of social isolation. 

 

With students’ lives and learning environments upended, the generous philanthropic community in Lorain County has created an opportunity for Effective Leadership Academy to offer all Lorain County public schools free online social and emotional learning (SEL) programming to support students and schools during this time. “With over 25,000 alumni, ELA’s mission and curriculum are perfectly aligned to assist our youth and school partners in enhancing students’ social and emotional skills to learn strategies for embracing change and adjusting to unpredictable circumstances,” said Flo Brett.

In response to COVID-19 and with the support of the Lorain County COVID-19 Response Fund, ELA has quickly transformed its nationally-recognized, award-winning SEL programming to develop an online learning experience that offers a lifetime of benefits. These programs teach essential SEL and self-leadership skills, empowering Lorain County youth to develop resiliency and growth mindsets. Programs are available for 5-6th, 7-8th and 9-12th grade students to access from home, in partnership with their school districts.

The 2020 Census is happening now!