Wake County Community Foundation supports critical COVID-19 local services

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The Wake County Community Foundation is honored to support local nonprofits that provide critical services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent grant recipients include Ship Community Outreach and NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) of Wake County.

Ship Community Outreach helps the community with food and clothing donations, a subsidized grocery store, an employment readiness training program and a free weightlifting yard with nutrition counseling and youth camps. Over the summer, they held a community food drive, thanks in part from a grant from WCCF.

Jerry High hands a bag of pantry staples through a car window during Community Day at the Ship of Zion church in Raleigh on June 13. Loaves of bread and packages of chicken are also provided during the drive-up event. Many of the food recipients are homeless and double-bagging the donations makes them easier to carry. Photo Credit: Bisi Cameron Yee and Activate Good’s ‘Look for the Helpers’ Photojournalism Project (See the entire collection at ActivateGood.org/Helpers)

NAMI, which previously provided nearly all support in-person, has shifted to a virtual support system during the ongoing pandemic. WCCF helped provide support for virtual family peer-to-peer eight-week courses.

A NAMI client shared: “The dynamics of my household became intolerable because all the services were shut down due to social distancing and safety reasons. Suddenly, my daughter and I did not have the support we needed in order to be in a safe environment. My husband of nine years felt helpless… Since my family started taking classes with NAMI-Wake County, we have found hope, peace and emotional support to help us deal with the daily struggles of chronic mental health disorders during this COVID-19 pandemic.” – Phoebe, Raleigh N.C.