Request and Give Aid Form
Fill out this form if you would like to request aid (petty cash assistance, groceries, supplies, medicine, delivery), AND/OR if you would like join our volunteer network to provide aid.
HOW THIS WORKS: When a request for aid is made, we match the person in need with someone in our volunteer network who can meet the need. Those matched coordinate the details.
Dear Community,
Thank you for your generous support of and engagement with Mutual Aid Tompkins’ Immediate Needs Team efforts over the past six months! We were able to distribute everything contributed thanks to the help of a small team of dedicated dispatchers.
Immediate Needs Team efforts -- in which volunteer dispatchers distribute cash aid and connect neighbors in need to other community resources -- will be on pause while we work to create a more sustainable system for neighbors to directly support their neighbors in a way that doesn’t require an intermediary. We’ll keep you posted!
In the meantime, if you are looking for support, please consider reaching out to the following local agencies or networks:
211, which can direct you to various agencies
Advocacy Center of Tompkins County, for response to domestic or sexual violence (607-277-5000, 24/7 and confidential)
Catholic Charities, providing emergency assistance, school supplies, and personal care supplies (607-272-5062)
The Mutual Aid Tompkins Immediate Needs Facebook group, to ask neighbors for support in meeting your needs
Robin Fund, for a one-time payment to meet immediate household needs
Freecycle.org, for finding specific material items offered by neighbors
Find other resources on the Mutual Aid Tompkins website.
If you are looking to become more involved in the community, here are some additional ideas:
Join the Immediate Needs Facebook group and respond to community members’ requests for aid
Donate funds to and support organizations like the Advocacy Center, Multicultural Resource Center, Southside Community Center, and No Mas Lagrimas
Donate food to our neighborhood food cabinets or volunteer with organizations like Loaves and Fishes and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier
Join communities like the Ithaca Tenants Union and Tompkins County Showing Up for Racial Justice
Get involved in the upcoming election by becoming a poll worker
Other aspects of our work, including information sharing and supporting the food sharing cabinets, will continue.
Send a Smile “Pen Pal” Program for Older Adults
Fill out this form if you are an older adult living in Tompkins County who would like a Pen Pal. We are creating a database of local community members, children and teens who want to connect with you through video/phone calls, video clips (e.g. reading a book, sharing a talent), or sending you letters/artwork (through email or mail). If you are in need of some spirit-lifting from local kids and teens, please sign up through the form.
If you would like to send materials for this program, please email SendASmileTompkins@gmail.com.