Have you received your ARPA check yet? Can you share some of it with our neighbors?
Barry Ingber
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
All of us have suffered mightily for the past year. Whether with medical issues, financial disaster, loneliness, or grief, no one has been untouched. For many of those who have borne the economic brunt of the pandemic, the insufficient aid provided by the federal government has been a lifesaver. Others have experienced the pain of the past year only in non-financial ways.
Almost all of us recently received a $600 payment intended to assist those in need and stimulate the economy. Another $1400 is now on the way as a result of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). But even this $2000 is a drop in the bucket for people buried under a pile of overdue rent, utility, credit card, and car payment bills. The people who care for our loved ones when they are ill, who harvest our food, who package our meat are the people suffering the most.
Last year, Safe Medford’s work raised $14,000 for three organizations providing direct aid to immigrants in the context of the pandemic, and we raised $3,000 more last month with a late and limited appeal. With more money now on the table, Safe Medford again challenges those of us who can afford to share some or all of our ARPA payment with those in more dire situations to do so. We are concentrating on two outstanding groups that serve in-need residents of Medford and Somerville: The Welcome Project and MAMAS (Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville).
The Welcome Project has formed an Immigrant Assistance Fund to help immigrants in Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, and Malden. Since last April, they have raised $280,000, which they use to leverage assistance to hundreds of households in need of groceries and utility and rental payments. They have helped 700 households so far. SafeMedford hopes to raise another $6000 to support their work!
MAMAS is an all-volunteer group committed to pooling resources to make sure everyone has what they need. They have raised and redistributed over $300,000 in our communities since the beginning of the epidemic, in addition to providing other neighbor to neighbor services. Their “Principles for Giving” is a document worth looking at! SafeMedford has set a goal of $6000 more in donations from our members and friends!
Safe Medford has set a goal of $12,000 during the March round of stimulus payments. Can you help us reach our goal? Please click here to pledge or to report your donations of all or part of your economic stimulus funds (or other money) to one or both of these organizations so that we can track our success. If you have already donated and not reported, you can report it now without donating more! Your responses and donations will be completely anonymous.
Thank you so much for contributing to our effort!
SafeMedford