COLUMN IN THE EAGLE TRIBUNE SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN THE EAGLE TRIBUNE HERE. If we didn’t lead digital lives before the pandemic, we certainly do now. We’ve been to class and work from our kitchen tables. We’ve visited with grandchildren and gone to the doctor on Zoom....
At the kickoff, Buchanan, who spoke for about a half-hour before taking questions, talked about the irrationality of expecting nonprofits to run like businesses. He explained his frustration at the false rhetoric he often hears about the social sector – organizations spend too much on overhead or they don’t innovate – and how he seeks to counteract it in every interaction he has with donors.
What we know and how we approach the multi-layered issue of COVID-19 vaccine access is continuously evolving. But what remains the same is that access to the vaccine has not been created equal.
Today, the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) on behalf of the NiSource Charitable Foundation, announced $1 million in one-year grants to support nonprofit organizations in the communities of Andover, Lawrence and North Andover.
Published in North of Boston Business March 24, 2021
They were the first to close and will be among the last to fully reopen. Theaters, performance venues, live music spots, museums and galleries: they make our communities more vibrant, they help drive the local economy, and they serve as epicenters of creative expression, cultural representation and togetherness.
Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, some parts of Essex County were thriving. The overall unemployment rate – which had been declining steadily since the Great Recession – was 3% and Essex County was on the tail end of a 21% spike in job growth.
Since the start of the COVID-19 health pandemic, expressions of xenophobia and anti-Asian sentiment have run rampant and gone largely unchecked across the country.
Food insecurity is among the challenges most exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, Essex County’s overall food insecurity rate has increased 72% from 2018-2020, while the child rate has skyrocketed by 123%. Right now in Essex County, 20.6% of children don’t know where they’ll get their next meal.
A 13-member committee made up of a diverse cross-section of local leaders is joining Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) in implementing a new strategy designed to advance racial equity and racial justice within the organization and throughout Essex County.
Strolling down Massachusetts’ Main Streets now looks very different than it did a year ago. Foot traffic is down. Online shopping and curbside pickup have largely replaced local, in-person experiences. And all across the state, small businesses that once breathed life and vitality into our communities — some of them for decades — are shuttering their storefronts for good.
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ECCF's Tax ID # 04-3407816