Eleven Nonprofits Serving Lake County Receive $83,000 in Relief Aid During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The joint efforts of Legacy Foundation, Crown Point Community Foundation and Foundations of East Chicago awarded eleven organization $83,000 in emergency grants. 

This is the third round of funding jointly released by the three foundations. The collaboration is raising money to support charities whose clients and services have been most impacted by COVID-19.

For over 50 years TradeWinds has been serving people with special needs. Now, a $15,000 grant from the Lake County Emergency Response Fund will help them serve the community in a new way.

"We completed a DOD [Department of Defense] order this week and transitioned to producing PPEs (masks and gowns) for local healthcare and first responders. For the safety of our clients, we cannot allow them to leave their homes to sew, fold and pack these items...With the purchase of additional material and added costs for staff to do the fold and pack, we are incurring more expenses," Tradewinds wrote.

The recent grant recipients include:

• Bethel Church
• Community HealthNet
• Crossroads YMCA
• First United Methodist Church
• Grace Beyond Borders Inc.
• Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana
• Hobart Food Pantry
• International Institute of Northwest Indiana Inc.
• New Star
• NWI Information Sharing and Security Alliance
• TradeWinds Services

"We are getting a lot of requests from veterans' groups, senior citizen housing residents, low income workers, and those that have lost jobs," wrote the Hobart Food Pantry. The grant to the Hobart Food Pantry will help the organization purchase fresh items along with some non-perishables to meet the pantry's demand.

In total, $237,659 in emergency funding has been awarded from the three foundations. 

Applications to the emergency fund are accepted on a rolling basis, with a weekly deadline of Sunday by midnight. Representatives from the foundations meet each week by phone to review new submissions and make funding decisions. The number of future grant awards will be dependent on the money raised through the foundations' emergency response funds and the evolving needs over time.

Interested organizations can see eligibility criteria and access the grant application online at http://www.legacyfdn.org/grants. 

How to Donate

You can donate online or by check to support the emergency grants. Gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. No gift is too small, every dollar contributed will provide services in our communities.

Donate Online

• Crown Point Community Foundation, CARE-Emergency Fund: www.thecpcf.org/donate.html 
• Donate by Check
• Crown Point Community Foundation: indicate CARE-Emergency Fund in the memo line and mail to P.O. Box 522, Crown Point, IN 46308