PHOTOS FROM CANOPY FAMILIES, TEAM MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS SHOWING THE OUTREACH AND RESOURCES WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC.
We are continuing to do our best to stay connected during this time of social distancing. The entire mission of Canopy is built on not being socially distant so it has been particularly difficult, but we are getting creative on ways to stay connected. Lots of FaceTime and Zoom calls.
We are continuing to be an advocate and ally for families, even if it must be done remotely. We have been working with our partners in resettlement (Miry’s List and the Redlands Interfaith Council) to get laptops to our college students that are now suddenly doing all of their college courses online. We have also been working closely with the local school districts to get the K-12 students school issued iPads and Chromebooks so they can stay on top of school work.
The Covid19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our national economy, this has left many of our Canopy adults unemployed. We have a team of volunteers that are helping families navigate the government unemployment system. It is an incredibly frightening time for all of us, but we remain dedicated to the Canopy mission. Our families need organizations like Canopy more than ever.
We had our quarterly board meeting last Friday. We voted to allocate some of our resources specifically to help with the impact of the Covid19 pandemic. The pandemic affects all aspects of daily life: education, employment, emotional well-being, the list goes on.. Without your support, we would not be able to help our families during this national crisis. We are very grateful for each and every one of you.
We are so lucky to have a community full of volunteers. This week a handful of students from Claremont High School will be rolling out a Zoom based tutoring program for many of our elementary aged kiddos! They will be reading stories and helping with basic homework!
We also have a number of volunteers that continue to do one on one tutoring with kids over FaceTime. It is so amazing to see how these friendships have formed with the greater Claremont Community.
The future remains unknown and the longer we are forced to be socially distant the larger the impact will be for our Canopy families. However, what remains the same is we are not going anywhere and will continue to be an ally for our families, in the good times and the bad. We sent out a translated message to each of our families (in both Farsi and Arabic) stating just that, we are here and will stay connected and will help them get through this difficult time. We will use our voices and will make sure that we can all come out of this better than before.
Stay safe everyone. Stay home. And we urge you to virtually reach out to your neighbors near and far. Just a familiar voice saying I am here, how can I help can change the world.
With gratitude,
Christy
