Tuesday, April 14th
From Mutual Aid Tompkins
If you have an immediate need, call (607) 288-3252
As always, community members looking for more information on local health resources and resources related to COVID-19 can contact 2-1-1 by calling 1-877-211-8667 or visiting 211tompkins.org
Mutual Aid Tompkins Facebook Page
Mutual Aid Tompkins Facebook Group
Mutual Aid Tompkins Immediate Needs Facebook Group
Mutual Aid Tompkins Food Systems Facebook Group
Mutual Aid Tompkins Community Form
Mutual Aid Tompkins Community Resource Folder
Find Help & Give Help
Donations: We are neighbors concerned about our communities and helping to make sure those most vulnerable and affected by COVID-19 get the support they need. We are volunteer run, with no paid staff, and our aid comes directly from the community. We have created a PayPal & Venmo account and the money donated is going directly to people who have made requests through our immediate needs page. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fundraiser that is in partnership with Tompkins County Worker's Center, You can also make donations through PayPal here and our Venmo here. Thank you!
Need Help Finding Help? Contact 2-1-1 Tompkins Cortland: Callers are referred to service providers according to their needs. 2-1-1 may follow up with callers, when appropriate, to ensure that contact was made and to offer further assistance if needed. Some common questions include locations to find food, legal issues with housing, how to access healthcare, and finding employment. 2-1-1 is active 24 hours a day 365 days of the year. To access 2-1-1 by text, message your zip code to TXT211 or 898211. Texting service is available Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 4:00 pm). You can also access 2-1-1 services by email (iandr@hsctc.org) or by visiting their website.
Community Volunteer & Request 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 to volunteer to give aid.
Older Adult Support Form: Read info here and fill out this form if you would like to provide assistance to older adults in Tompkins County.
Local
Tracking
This is a helpful resource built by local resident Marty Hiller (it takes a few seconds to load). She has graphed all the data we have been getting from TC and for Cortland. You can see the classic exponential curve we would expect to see in an infectious disease outbreak with a predictive continued curve had we had no intervention. Mapped on the same graph is the observed curve of spread with the interventions that we as a community have taken.
News
We Are Ithaca: 4 Minute Report with Mutual Aid Tompkins: A simple question from a conversation between Phoebe Brown & Josh Dolan at the outset of the local wave of the #COVID-19 pandemic. Brown, Dolan, Juliana Garcia and others started Mutual Aid Tompkins, a grassroots organizing effort made up of "neighbors supporting neighbors" in the form of a website and a Facebook page which has seen a surge in community participation.
Health
Find Help & Give Help
Quarantine Space : Mutual Aid Tompkins is trying to coordinate with home/apartment owners to create quarantine space for people coming (back) to Ithaca or traveling to Ithaca from other places. If you need any assistance with self-quarantine place, please contact communityaidtompkins@gmail.com or our point person, Becky Sibner rsibner1@gmail.com.
Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition is raising funds to support housing and transportation for people who are currently being released from immigrant detention thanks to pressure from organizers during COVID-19. Please read below and DONATE in solidarity here: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/donate-to-the-tompkins-county-workers-center-in-support-of-the-tompkins-county-immigrant-rights-coalition
GIAC Robin Fund: The Robin Fund assists people in our community faced with a financial crisis and nowhere else to go. When family finances are in precarious balance any emergency becomes a struggle for survival. In such a situation, a grant or loan from the Robin Fund can be made quickly and without a lot of red tape. It can make a world of difference for the recipient. And thanks to the compassionate administration by GIAC staff and volunteers, 100% of each donation goes directly to people in need!
Ways to support the FLX food/farm/beverage industry during COVID-19: As concerns over COVID-19 continue to mount, Edible publishers throughout the United States and Canada are mobilizing in nearly every market we serve to support food and drink businesses by providing up-to-date information on how local community members can help. There’s never been a more critical time to support small business in ways that feel comfortable and safe for you and your family.
Supporting Six Nations people working on front lines: Primarily monetary donations for purchase of nitrile gloves, masks, decontamination supplies. Monetary donations would be the most helpful at this time, to allow for supplies to be ordered and shipped quickly and with minimal contact. This fundraiser is to benefit people on reservations in NY state and Cayuga reservation in Canada and is organized by Dan Hill from Cayuga Share Farm.
Food
Dryden Community Food Distribution: PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Registration will open on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 from 8-4. The Food Bank will hold a drive-thru Community Food Distribution from 10am-1pm, Friday, April 24 at Tompkins Cortland Community College, 170 North St, Dryden. Register online or you can call (833)4FB-FOOD (that’s (833)432-3663) to register over the phone during those times. This is a drive-thru distribution to limit person-to-person contact. NO WALK-UPS.
Ithaca Free Food Resources HERE.
Senior-Only Shopping Hours, Ithaca NY
Walmart: Tuesday 6am-7am
Tops: Tuesday & Thursday 6am-730am
Target: Tuesday & Wednesday 8am-9am
Green Star: Daily 9am-10am
CVS: Tuesday & Wednesday 7am-8am
Walgreens: Tuesday 8am-9am
BJ's Wholesale Club: Daily 8am-9am
Dollar Tree: Daily 9am-10am
List of Farms Serving Tompkins County is HERE
Food Box Delivery : To provide immediate local relief, Cornell has partnered with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) to collect and distribute much-needed meals for food-insecure families. The organizers plan to provide food packages – each containing a three-day supply for a family of four – to 200 families on Tuesday, and another 200 on Thursday. GIAC and will continue every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-4 p.m.. If there are people in the area needing the free food boxes given away at GIAC, but are unable to travel for a variety of reasons, please contact communityaidtompkins@gmail.com
Sidewalk Food Pantries : The first of our Neighborhood Open Food Pantries has been placed in Ithaca's Northside neighborhood across from the Permaculture Park! Please read more information about Food Pantries and how to build a Neighborhood Food Pantry HERE.
Finger Lakes Eat Smart NY Gardening Toolkit
Pets
SPCA of Tompkins County Free Pet Food: Wednesday April 15th, between 10 and 11 AM. Our wonderful community has been supporting us with generous donations of pet food, and we want to pass some of it on to folks who are struggling to feed their pets right now. Special thanks to the wonderful people donating dry cat food for the pantry, so we now have enough to share! If you need pet food, please come to our Intake Building parking lot (the shorter of our two buildings). Wait in your car, roll down a window, and staff will bring food to you. We want to minimize our human-to-human contact, for everyone’s safety! This event is for dog, cat, and small mammal (rat, guinea pig, mouse, rabbit, etc.) food only, other supplies will not be available, but keep your eye on our page for additional upcoming food pantry events. No reservations are required for this event. **If you, or anyone in your household is sick, has been tested for Covid-19, or are under observation because of exposure to the virus, please DO NOT come yourself! Instead, ask a friend or family member to come pick up food and drop it off on your doorstep. We want everyone to stay safe and healthy.**
Activities and Events
Lily Silly’s Virtual Puppet Show: Wednesday, April 14, 6:30PM. Aunt Irene hosts a show of silly skits, creatures and songs for all ages. See the Opera Cat, a pair of Singing Lips, and maybe even an interview with puppet #CarlSagan. Live guitar music by classically trained Matthew Ocone.
Job Search During COVID Webinar: Thursday, April 16, 1:00pm - Whether you've been laid off or furloughed, you need temporary work, or you've been looking to make a career change - it's a tough time to be job searching right now. Jumping headfirst into a search without acknowledging and processing emotions and realities of our current situation could be harmful. I want to help you mindfully enter the job search process to maximize the chance for successful outcomes.
Ithaca Childrens Garden: FREE mini baby houseplants for kids: Please register for a free baby houseplant here so we can be sure we have enough for everyone and that you get the information you need for safe pickup. Great care will be taken to ensure a safe pickup, and detailed instructions will be emailed to folks in advance of pickup.
An Earth Day 2020 web page and Facebook Event page are now live, and preparations for our Tompkins County area celebration continue apace. Wednesday, April 22nd, beginning at 2pm. Over 30 presenters and performers are expected for the event. A program and schedule will be shared on the web page after Monday, 4/13, the due date for presenters and performers. For those interested in participating, please complete this form. We are looking artists and presentations from community organizations. More info for potential performers and presenters is included at the end of this note. The event will be streamed live and has the theme of “Connection - Solidarity - Action”.
Loans & Grants
United Way of Southern Tier: We're proud to announce the first grants have been awarded to Southern Tier non-profits by the COVID-19 Unity Response Fund. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dkYz6t5
Has anyone applied for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan and either heard anything back or gotten money? I applied two weeks ago, confirmation number at the end of the application but haven't heard anything at all, not even an email.
I have not heard of any of the emergency advances going out either. I bet that they are using their manpower to move the PPP money first and then the EIDL. In most cases you CAN apply for both. There has been misleading info about that. The PPP money has been moving through the SBA and banks will close and disburse that money.
We applied on 3/30 and have heard nothing from the SBA. I have read various places that none of the emergency advances have been dispersed.
Mask Making
Bartels Hall Mask Making: We had another phenomenal day here at Bartels Hall, Cornell making surgical masks! And to top it off, the Managing Partner, Joe Root, of Texas Roadhouse brought us a phenomenal lunch.......O.M.G!! What a treat. Everyone raved.....our volunteers couldn't have been happier. Thanks again Joe and everyone at Texas Roadhouse for putting together a variety of "vittles" . Menu: forms.texasroadhouse.com Order: alohaorderonline.com Phone: : (607) 272-1621
List of people available and providing/selling homemade masks. If you would like to be on that list please contact Dee Kay, https://www.facebook.com/draya.koschmann
State
On April 14th, Governor Cuomo and several fellow northeast state Governors announced the creation of a multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work.
National
COVID-19 Cases in the US : CDC website
The pathology of American racism is making the pathology of the coronavirus worse - The Washington Post
