The most important thing we can do to keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic is to stay home. And if you can’t stay home, be responsible when you go out.

But just because we’re home doesn’t mean we have to be inactive. Our healthcare workers are in desperate need of personal protective equipment, the local economy is facing very tough times and members of our community are enduring hardships.

Here are just a few ways that you can keep up with relevant news and make a difference in our community.

Local News | Free Meals | Resources | Hubs | Donations/Volunteering

Local News – Coronavirus coverage

• The Washington Post
• The Baltimore Sun
• Bethesda Magazine
• WTOP

Free meals

• Montgomery County Public Schools – 3 meals a day for kids 18 and younger
• Women Who Care Ministries – Weekend meals for kids and families
• Manna Food Center – Weekend meal backpacks

Resources

• For making DIY masks – A collection of videos from the LA Times.
• For businesses in Montgomery County
• For vulnerable populations in Montgomery County

Hubs

• Maryland Unites – Offers multiple options to donate and/or volunteer with food banks, meals on wheels and others.
• The Montgomery County Volunteer Center – A variety of ways to volunteer safely in the county.
• The Washington Post – This helpful story lists a variety of ways to help local nonprofits, seniors, restaurants and others in the area.

Donations/Volunteer opportunities

• The American Red Cross – There is a severe shortage of donated blood. If you’re willing and able, they have responsible ways to give blood during this pandemic.
• CASA – CASA has a COVID-19 response fund to support the immigrant and Latino communities.
• Donors Choose – A way to help children learn from home.
• Manna Food Center – A local food bank in Montgomery County dedicated to ending hunger.
• Moveable Feast – Headquartered in Baltimore and feeding people in need across Maryland.
• The National Domestic Workers Alliance – Provides assistance to domestic workers so that they can stay home and healthy during the coronavirus outbreak.
• One Fair Wage – Created an emergency assistance fund for tipped and service workers.
• The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation – Providing emergency assistance to restaurant industry workers who’re in dire need of support.
• Silver Spring Cares – Buying meals from local restaurants to support our economy and then giving those meals to people in need.
• The Town Hall Project – Searchable map of dozens of mutual aid funds that are supporting workers and communities in need during the outbreak.

• Volunteer to call or write home bound seniors by contacting Colleen Kemp, Director of Kensington Clubs.