JCCF and UWJC collaborate to address crisis needs
Published: April 1, 2020 by Gail Richards, President & CEO of JCCF, and Nancy Lohr Plake, Executive Director of United Way of Johnson County
In the wake of the COVID-19 virus and the impact that it will have on the Johnson County community, Johnson County Community Foundation (JCCF) and United Way of Johnson County (UWJC) have formed a partnership to help with the collaboration of services in anticipation of a variety of unmet needs.
On March 20, the collaborative team, represented by both organizations began planning and prioritizing the first steps in addressing the most immediate needs.
“We don’t have a pandemic playbook to follow, so we have been asking a lot of questions,” said Gail Richards, President and CEO of JCCF.
In order to understand the implications of the current crisis on the not for profits in the county, the team has put together a survey. The purpose of the survey is to have information and facts that will help guide the team on how to best address the needs of the Johnson County not-for-profits and the clients that they are serving or soon will be serving.
UWJC has recognized that several of the agencies are struggling to keep up with the need.
“So many of our agencies depend on volunteers and due to the COVID-19 crisis their volunteers aren’t able to perform their volunteer duties for a variety of different reasons,” said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director for UWJC.
“We are very excited to be working together. Both organizations know that we are entering into uncharted waters, but we up for the challenge. Our Johnson County community has always been committed to helping family, friends and neighbors, and we know that as a community we will hit the challenge head on,” Plake.
The team is formulating a response plan to help the community address the issues that will arise as a result of the pandemic crisis. The team will be working regularly with other community partners to collaborate and provide an avenue for services to be provided.
