The United Way of Central Massachusetts gave nearly $18 million toward COVID-19 relief as the pandemic tore across the region over the last year, including $10 million through the Worcester Together fund, president and CEO Tim Garvin said on Thursday.
Through a variety of grants and funds, the nonprofit’s contribution to the region totaled $17,952,763.
“The COVID year has been heartbreaking,” Garvin said in an emailed statement. “We all know people, we all remember people no longer with us. And we feel that loss. The COVID year has also been about the power of hope; how together we offered support, how together we helped, how together we offered hope.”
Garvin recounted how a series of emails and meetings quickly led to both the establishment of the We Care Fund, United Way’s initial coronavirus pandemic response fund, and shortly thereafter, the Worcester Together Fund, jointly run by both the nonprofit and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation.
“Saturday evening, March 21, [2020], eight of us met by phone,” Garvin said. “Within 30 minutes the United Way’s We Care Fund and Greater Worcester’s COVID-19 Relief Fund merged efforts into the Worcester Together Fund.”
The emergency response fund has provided financial support for a variety of groups and needs, from childcare to health care and other essential needs.
