Today, the Winter Park Health Foundation (WPHF) announced grants totaling $35,000 in support of local COVID-19 relief efforts. The funding for four organizations, including Heart of Florida United Way ALICE Recovery Fund for COVID-19, Joe R. Lee Boys & Girls Club of Eatonville, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Winter Park Improvement Foundation, will be used towards efforts to relieve food insecurity and financial hardship and to feed frontline health workers.

About the Grants:

• Heart of Florida United Way Alice Recovery Fund for COVID-19: a $20,000 grant will support the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population experiencing hardship due to decreased hours or unpaid leave. The WPHF grant will specifically support Eatonville, Maitland and Winter Park residents who are eligible for the ALICE Fund, providing rent, mortgage and utility assistance to help prevent eviction and homelessness.
• Joe R. Lee Boys & Girls Club in Eatonville: a $5,000 grant will support the organization’s Family Fund and will provide food and support for Eatonville youth and families experiencing food insecurity and financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Second Harvest Food Bank: a $5,000 grant will provide food to older adults in Eatonville. Some of the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and a population most impacted by the quarantine, older adults need proper nourishment to boost their immunity to fight the virus.WPHF’s funds will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Amerifactors, a business funding company based in Celebration, for a total grant of $10,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank for this effort.
• Winter Park Improvement Foundation: a $5,000 grant will support the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce THRIVE Winter Park initiative, a hyper-local charitable response to the financial impacts of COVID-19 on residents and small businesses in Winter Park to enable and accelerate the community’s recovery after the pandemic.  WPHF funds will help “Feed the Frontline” by purchasing meals from local restaurants to feed frontline health workers responding to COVID-19.

COVID-19 pandemic’s aftershocks will be long-lasting. Together with other local leaders in the philanthropic and non-profit sectors, the Foundation will be closely monitoring the ongoing needs of our communities, with a focus on both individuals and nonprofit organizations who are typically called upon to support the most vulnerable during times of crisis.

In addition to the funding announced today, WPHF and its partners in the Wellbeing Network, Growing Bolder, launched The Daily Well initiative in late March in response to the COVID-19 closure of the Center for Health & Wellbeing. The Daily Well, a virtual village of resources, digital programs and opportunities to connect and commiserate, designed especially for extraordinary times like these, is another touchstone in the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to inspire and promote health and wellbeing.  Learn more about the initiative at WellbeingNetwork.org/TheDailyWell.

Since 1994, the Winter Park Health Foundation has been focused on optimizing physical, emotional and social health and wellbeing through the development, implementation and support of innovative programs to improve quality of life for residents in Winter Park, Maitland and Eatonville.  For more information, please visit www.wphf.org