Fulfilling Their Mission During Coronavirus

P​rior to COVID-19 hitting New Jersey, Nourish NJ of Morristown each week served nearly 1,500 free onsite breakfasts and lunches and gave away approximately 12,500 pounds of take-home food. While the virus shut down many facets of life in New Jersey, hunger was not one of them. Nourish NJ had to scramble to continue fulfilling its mission of feeding the hungry and providing ancillary services, such as mental health, housing and employment services. ​

The organization suspended its sit-down meals and free farmers market and began distributing takeaway breakfasts and lunches through local churches. While some employees prepared meals and packaged groceries others delivered food to senior citizens and individuals sheltering in hotels or under quarantine, according to Teresa Connelly, Nourish NJ’s executive director.

“We shifted very quickly and were able to find alternate ways to fulfill our mission,” she said. “The human element is missing – we certainly miss seeing our clients. But we are fulfilling our mission.” Those alternate methods included providing mental health services by phone, working with county government to help people remain in their homes and prepare for a wave of evictions later and coordinating with Atlantic Health System to identify and place homeless people. Employment Horizons, which provides job training and employment for people with disabilities, supported 475 clients in 2019, according to Matthew Putts, the agency’s chief executive officer. That included about200 who worked directly for Employment Horizons and others who were employed by local businesses. When the coronavirus forced the nonprofit to close its doors, Putts and his staff had to find new ways of supporting their clients, such as providing job coaching by phone and staying in contact with those who are now at home because the agency’s fulfillment center was closed. “We’ve been trying to suggest activities to keep them engaged,” Putts said. 

​Fortunately, most of Employment Horizons’ clients who work for outside employers were retained because those businesses provide essential services, such as janitorial, according to Putts.  “I’m incredibly proud of our staff,” Putts said.  “They’ve been very creative in supporting our clients and engaging them…It’ll be interesting to see how many of those (creative solutions) stick.” United Way of Northern New Jersey supports a segment of the population that already was at risk before COVID-19 hit – ALICE households. (ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.) The agency supports these families on three fronts – child care, tax preparation and financial aid access, and supporting family care-givers, according to Kiran Handa Gaudioso, United Way’s chief executive officer.

When the coronavirus hit, United Way shifted gears. “We’ve pivoted, just like all organizations, to provide these services virtually,” Gaudioso said. The agency helped people file their tax returns online because they rely on their refunds, offered virtual installation of assistive technology for family care-givers and worked with child care centers to support their staff and prepare parents for when they return to work. United Way also created the ALICE Recovery Fund to support low-income workers impacted by the coronavirus, with the New York Jets seeding the fund with a $250,000 donation. As of mid-May the agency had supported more than 200 families through the fund. 

“This moment is literally the moment for ALICE,” Gaudioso said. “This is the time to activate our plan.”
The Red Mill Museum Village typically welcomes 1,800 visitors per month, including 4,000 students during the spring period. When the state shut down in late March, the museum shifted to virtual engagement, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, according to its director, Paul Muir. The museum placed reenactment videos on YouTube, such as a militia member caring for his weapon or a militia doctor explaining his role (played by a critical care nurse from Hackensack Meridian Health). The videos have had more than 3,000 views. Staff also turned to their archives and created online exhibits, such as one about the Spanish Flu of 1918, comparing it to today’s situation, and launched a photo contest. “We had fairly robust social media before this  but with people working home and having effected schedules, we’ve had to adapt,” Muir said. While nonprofits have done a good job within the constraints of the coronavirus and resultant state shutdown, there are future hurdles ahead, according to Muir, who serves as the chair of the Not-for-Profit Roundtable at the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.

“The one thing we’re all concerned about is financial support,” he said. “The largest challenge has been understanding the financial landscape…We still need financial support. “There are some longer-term impacts from this,” he continued. “Once people start opening up businesses again, people will have cash flow issues. (Nonprofits) need to prepare for that.”