Warm greetings to Friends and Supporters of Nanum!
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the NY Nanum Foundation has pivoted away from its usual small budget grant-giving to focus on providing emergency relief to those struggling under the unusually heavy burdens triggered by the pandemic. With your donations and support in 2020, we touched the lives of approximately 1,400 individuals!
Throughout the first half of 2021, Nanum collaborated with several reputable organizations to identify the most vulnerable in our local Asian communities and deliver funds and services to them. The majority of the grants have already been distributed into the community with some remaining funds scheduled to be distributed in the next month to coincide with the holidays.
Your ‘Nanum’ (sharing and giving) has provided a light in the darkest times and has helped to secure food, living necessities, shelter, childcare, and senior assistance to so many.
In this newsletter, we share stories of how your ‘Nanum’ has made a direct impact. They are a testament to how we can make a concrete difference when we come together to help our community.
Thank you for sharing and giving to our community through the Nanum Foundation. It has been a tremendous honor to be able to continue serving the community through these difficult times.
Beyond Charity, Toward Change
The NY Nanum Foundation
Neighbor Plus received over $30,000 from Nanum which it used to support the most vulnerable in our local Asian community – the undocumented who were unable to obtain Covid-relief from the government as well as elderly individuals living alone who are ill or otherwise unwell.With the funds you donated, Neighbor Plus launched a new Senior Assistance program that provides personal care and support on an ongoing basis. This is a unique program because it caters to elderly who live alone and who are often beyond the reach of the welfare system despite suffering from health and financial issues. The program’s beneficiaries are provided with $100 in monthly financial support to help pay for food and necessities and also receive customized services in the form of transportation, handyman work, personal care, etc.
In August, the first monthly distribution was made to 20 senior citizens who were selected due to their desolate state and your contributions will enable funding for the next 7 months.
Your donations made this program possible. In order to expand these services to more senior citizens, more funding and volunteers are required. Please contact us if your heart is calling!
In addition, Neighbor Plus distributed Covid-19 emergency funds to 26 undocumented households who demonstrated extreme financial need due to job loss, illness, and health issues, as well as families with single parents with school-aged children who were forced to stay home during the lockdown and school closures. Each household received one-time support of $400 consisting of a $200 H Mart Gift card and $200 cash.
Give Chances has been utilizing Nanum’s grant of over $13,000 to assist low-income families through weekly food box deliveries and other donations. The families affiliated with Give Chances afterschool program, Joyful Learning, struggle with hunger as they are predominantly low-income and undocumented households whose situations have only worsened with the pandemic. Food insecurity prevents children from cognitive, emotional, and physical development, diminishes children’s ability to acquire complex skills, and increases the chance of repeating a grade in school. Furthermore, it increases the risk of developing aggression, anxiety, and depression, and is detrimental to children at a critical stage of development. Give Chances hopes to combat this direct negative impact on children’s education and mental health by delivering weekly food boxes.
In April, CMP NY distributed a total of $10,000 in emergency funds to 25 households financially hit by the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis. Each household received $400 in the form of debit cards to meet emergency needs including paying for groceries, phone service, internet service, and medication. In addition, dedicated CMP NY staff members have provided social services, resource information and referrals to health care services, food pantry and housing advocates that are made available to undocumented immigrant populations who are unable to receive government support. CMP NY greatly appreciates our support and has been a willing Nanum collaborator to assist those who have nowhere else to get help.
Dr. Young Seh Bae, Executive Director, CIDA
CIDA (Community Inclusion & Development Alliance) received $5,000 of your donations which it distributed to four families with disabilities whose pre-existing challenges were greatly exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis both financially, emotionally and physically. Your support provided these families with some much needed relief in the midst of great suffering. We invite you to watch the appreciation video from Dr. Young Seh Bae, Executive Director of CIDA.
Damayan Covid-19 Assistance Distribution
The staff at Damayan Migrant Workers Association created a list of elderly, unemployed and underemployed Filipino migrant workers who have chronic, debilitating, and/or life-threatening illnesses. In June, with Nanum’s grant, Damayan distributed $5,000 cash assistance to these community members in the form of $250 cash. (Gift cards posed a challenge when they were previously distributed to this particular population). Damayan extends its deep appreciation to Nanum’s supporters.
On August 9, the EnoB Disney Musical Gala Digital Outreach Concert debuted for patients at Columbia Children’s Hospital (New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital). Patients and residents of nursing homes have been especially isolated and hard hit during the pandemic. $2,000 of your donation sponsored the cost of virtual concert preparation and this digital concert will be played in many more hospitals, nursing homes and patient care facilities via YouTube and Instagram Live in the near future, ultimately reaching about 1,200 individuals.
With $1,000 from your donations, the Queens Dream Center completed some badly needed plumbing work in their facility for homeless women including the installation of a new shower facility, hot water system, and sink. Pastor Jongsun Lee shared the exciting story of how a professional plumber bought the necessary materials and then guided the shelter’s residents who directly installed the shower and sink to save money to complete the work within the tight budget. Their teamwork is impressive and heartwarming and a wonderful example of how collaboration is key!
NY Nanoom House and Jesus Love House each received $1,000 and utilized the funds to purchase food and necessities for their homeless residents whose regular “sources” of donations were eradicated by the pandemic. They send their sincere appreciation to Nanum’s supporters and donors.
The Korean Community Center (KCC) was inspired by Nanum’s grant of $10,000 for emergency COVID relief to fundraise on its own to bring the total to $30,000! KCC will soon distribute this amount in cash emergency proceeds to local Asian undocumented immigrant households. The grant distribution to approximately 60 households will be made in November, shortly before the holiday season begins, which is often a time of heightened need for undocumented families.
