Urgent Response Projects
The Urgent Response Projects focus on battling our community’s most urgent challenges. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged our community and La Convivencia looked for ways to support our neighbors (and ourselves) who were affected by this pandemic. Many lost their jobs or a portion of their income; some families lacked necessary technology for their children to continue school online; others struggled with food scarcity; and some dealt with illness and death in their families.
August Update on Working with Food Pantries During Corona Virus
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Our sincere and many thanks to those of you who participated in the service project to address the needs of SEVEN food pantries in Mercer County, New Jersey. Our warmest thanks, also, to the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in West Windsor for serving as a drop off site - and for the many friends at Prince of Peace who donated.The project has been completed -- for now! The major emphasis of the project was to get reusable face masks to the families who were seeking relief from food scarcity by using our local food pantries. We provided 2,055 ADULT cloth face masks and 1,552 CHILDREN's reusable face masks. What a great job the Mercer Mask Project group did coordinating the sewing of the masks; they work with hundreds of sewers! We also secured 80 one-time use masks for food pantry staff and volunteers. In addition, La Convivencia delivered over 400 PPE gloves, three bags of personal care products and 16 bags of food. We want to give a special word of thanks to Arnav Joshi who has been volunteering with one of the pantries 1 or 2 days a week all summer. And to Celia Lidz and David Hoffman who made multiple deliveries of the gathered items to the food pantries.
You did not need to donate through La Convivencia to be a partner in this project. We know there have been many folks who have directly given food, supplies, and funds to the food pantries in the past few months. Thank you for answering the call to address these urgent needs.
If you are interested in helping La Convivencia as a volunteer, please send an email to: volunteer@laconvivencia.org.
You did not need to donate through La Convivencia to be a partner in this project. We know there have been many folks who have directly given food, supplies, and funds to the food pantries in the past few months. Thank you for answering the call to address these urgent needs.
If you are interested in helping La Convivencia as a volunteer, please send an email to: volunteer@laconvivencia.org.
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These are the things the food pantries throughout Mercer County are seeking. Can you help?
g the corona virus, we may be in the same rough sea, but we are not all in the same boat. Some of us can actually appreciate the time at home during the corona virus quarantine. We have the financial means, jobs that can be done from home, good health. Our children have access to the IT they need for school, a backyard, and plenty of books and toys. Please contact La Convivencia’s Volunteer Facilitator |
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But others are not so fortunate. They lost jobs. They had little saved up. They live in dense housing with playgrounds for kids shut down. They may be essential workers who still struggle to make ends meet. They may have a loved one who is ill. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We are in the same sea. What can we do to help one another? La Convivencia is connecting those with needs to people who can do something about those needs. |
Here are ways you can be involved:
1) MAKE CLOTH FACE MASKS:
Food pantries want to hand out reusable face masks to their recipients. Currently for the La Convivencia project, 1,600 adult masks and 500 children sized masks are needed. La Convivencia has teamed up with the Mercer Mask Project (MMP). If you can help make masks, go directly to: Mercer Mask Project. MMP continues to need more help with sewing.
This wonderful group of volunteers obtains fabric (in volume), supplies for making masks, launders fabric before it is sewn. They give out sewing kits (10 face masks in each kit) for SEW-ERS who want to sew. They need VOLUNTEER HELP to put together the sewing kits. They need VOLUNTEER HELP to compile the sewn masks into bags which are then given out to organizations who have requested them. MMP has given over 13,000 masks to healthcare providers, non-profit providers and schools. This group is totally volunteer but they need funds for supplies—and will accept donated supplies. If you can donate, see: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mercer-mask-project
2) CLEANING SUPPLIES AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:
As you know, cleaning supplies have become hard to find. Because of this, some food pantries cannot even accept food from the public. If you have or can obtain bleach, Lysol, alcohol, hand sanitizer, please contact La Convivencia’s Volunteer Facilitator to connect you with a pantry that needs this. The same goes for personal care products. Some pantries offer for men, women and their children: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bar soap, laundry soap, and feminine hygiene products. We have drop off sites and can connect you to one.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 177 Princeton-Hightstown Road in Princeton Junction is one of the sites with plastic bins to collect what you wish to drop off.
3) GIVE FOOD:
Some food pantries need food. However, their needs vary from week to week. Almost all food pantries will accept a bag of shelf-stable food with the following items:
Box of breakfast cereal | Cans of meat (tuna/chicken), fruit, vegetables, soup | Pasta, rice, beans (bags and cans) | Sauce to put on pasta | Large carton of shelf stable milk | Large juice
Another option is to have your group run a drive for just one item. For example, collect 500 boxes of cereal and then let us know. Remember, no food should have a passed expiration date on it.
As noted with cleaning supplies and personal care products, if you hold a food drive, let us know and we will connect you with a place to drop the food.
4) GIVE FUNDS :
Attached is a list of organizations giving out food throughout Mercer County. (The Trenton Health Team at www.trentonhealthteam.org keeps this list up to date.) You can go directly to a website if you want to make a monetary donation or send a check in the mail. The money is used to pay for gas to pick up and deliver food, to buy food and cleaning supplies, and for other purposes that support their work. Note that Mercer Street Friends Food Bank provides food to about 55 sites. Thus, to support the “Grab and Go” sites for children, contact Mercer Street Friends.
5) VOLUNTEER :
If you want to help a food pantry (and many pantries especially need persons strong enough to move boxes and heavy bags of food), La Convivencia is helping connect volunteers with pantries. If you want to help La Convivencia with this project or other projects, we need help, too. Please let us know what you want to do by emailing the Volunteer Facilitator.
INFORM LA CONVIVENCIA If you know of an urgent need, please let us know. We will help connect people to people. Please email: Volunteer Facilitator
BE A HELPING PARTNER:
If you are an organization that wants to be a “Helping Partner”, please email our Volunteer Facilitator.
Helping Partners:
1) Help collect food, face masks and products;
2) may be a drop off site;
3) will continue to be informed of other community needs and La Convivencia events as they arise;
4) can receive training from and publicity through La Convivencia.
Thank you for working together to create a diverse, peaceful world.
Food pantries want to hand out reusable face masks to their recipients. Currently for the La Convivencia project, 1,600 adult masks and 500 children sized masks are needed. La Convivencia has teamed up with the Mercer Mask Project (MMP). If you can help make masks, go directly to: Mercer Mask Project. MMP continues to need more help with sewing.
This wonderful group of volunteers obtains fabric (in volume), supplies for making masks, launders fabric before it is sewn. They give out sewing kits (10 face masks in each kit) for SEW-ERS who want to sew. They need VOLUNTEER HELP to put together the sewing kits. They need VOLUNTEER HELP to compile the sewn masks into bags which are then given out to organizations who have requested them. MMP has given over 13,000 masks to healthcare providers, non-profit providers and schools. This group is totally volunteer but they need funds for supplies—and will accept donated supplies. If you can donate, see: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mercer-mask-project
2) CLEANING SUPPLIES AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:
As you know, cleaning supplies have become hard to find. Because of this, some food pantries cannot even accept food from the public. If you have or can obtain bleach, Lysol, alcohol, hand sanitizer, please contact La Convivencia’s Volunteer Facilitator to connect you with a pantry that needs this. The same goes for personal care products. Some pantries offer for men, women and their children: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, bar soap, laundry soap, and feminine hygiene products. We have drop off sites and can connect you to one.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 177 Princeton-Hightstown Road in Princeton Junction is one of the sites with plastic bins to collect what you wish to drop off.
3) GIVE FOOD:
Some food pantries need food. However, their needs vary from week to week. Almost all food pantries will accept a bag of shelf-stable food with the following items:
Box of breakfast cereal | Cans of meat (tuna/chicken), fruit, vegetables, soup | Pasta, rice, beans (bags and cans) | Sauce to put on pasta | Large carton of shelf stable milk | Large juice
Another option is to have your group run a drive for just one item. For example, collect 500 boxes of cereal and then let us know. Remember, no food should have a passed expiration date on it.
As noted with cleaning supplies and personal care products, if you hold a food drive, let us know and we will connect you with a place to drop the food.
4) GIVE FUNDS :
Attached is a list of organizations giving out food throughout Mercer County. (The Trenton Health Team at www.trentonhealthteam.org keeps this list up to date.) You can go directly to a website if you want to make a monetary donation or send a check in the mail. The money is used to pay for gas to pick up and deliver food, to buy food and cleaning supplies, and for other purposes that support their work. Note that Mercer Street Friends Food Bank provides food to about 55 sites. Thus, to support the “Grab and Go” sites for children, contact Mercer Street Friends.
5) VOLUNTEER :
If you want to help a food pantry (and many pantries especially need persons strong enough to move boxes and heavy bags of food), La Convivencia is helping connect volunteers with pantries. If you want to help La Convivencia with this project or other projects, we need help, too. Please let us know what you want to do by emailing the Volunteer Facilitator.
INFORM LA CONVIVENCIA If you know of an urgent need, please let us know. We will help connect people to people. Please email: Volunteer Facilitator
BE A HELPING PARTNER:
If you are an organization that wants to be a “Helping Partner”, please email our Volunteer Facilitator.
Helping Partners:
1) Help collect food, face masks and products;
2) may be a drop off site;
3) will continue to be informed of other community needs and La Convivencia events as they arise;
4) can receive training from and publicity through La Convivencia.
Thank you for working together to create a diverse, peaceful world.
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P. O. Box 331 Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 |
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La Convivencia is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.
All contributions are tax-deductible. |