2020 Has Been A Challenging Year

OUR WORLD CHANGED DRAMATICALLY

back in March with a global COVID-19 pandemic that has tested us over and over again - physically, emotionally, and financially. When times are tough, you look for leaders to show up. At The Community Place of Greater Rochester we never closed our doors. We appreciate your support and are proud of our dedicated employees who knew their work was essential for the most vulnerable among us.

The Community Place stands on the record of our founding agencies that include over 100 years of service. When the world was fighting the 1918 Flu Pandemic, we were serving the city. The Association for Practical Housekeeping (later Lewis Street Center) functioned as an additional hospital – setting up beds for 50 patients, mostly women and children. When there is a need, we answer the call – but we can’t do it without you.

The Community Place helps over 10,000 people annually and remained open as an essential organization when other businesses were closed. We provide emergency food, personal protective equipment, and other basic needs through our Family Services department. Even the programs that were closed for regular business continued to operate virtually. Our youth staff have stayed in touch with students and continue to provide lesson plans or learning activities. We make calls to our seniors to make sure they have meals and help them cope with social isolation. We deliver food to people in our disability services programs who may not otherwise be able to access food. We provide rent and mortgage assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness.

As we navigate through these challenging times, we do so together. The more we come together as a community and help one another, the stronger we will be as a whole. In that spirit, we are asking for your support with a monetary donation of any amount so we can continue to provide vital services to our families, our children, our elders, and our community.