Grow Garretson has begun a community relief fund, and has found some seed money from the city and an anonymous donor, who has agreed to match the first $500 in donations.
On Monday, Grow Garretson approached the City Council during its meeting and requested an amount of $5000 to begin a community relief fund, in order to provide those who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic with some needed relief. In the week after several pandemic-mitigating measures were put in place, more than 1,700 people applied for unemployment, which was an over 900% increase in claims from the week prior. Since that time, unemployment numbers have only gone up.
Richelle Hofer, a member of the Garretson City Council and Vice President of Grow Garretson, recognized that and wanted to provide a way to help the community. After offering the option to the city, she and the board of Grow Garretson gathered to form an action plan.
“City officials and businesses have instituted sweeping measures to halt the spread of the virus. School closures, travel and event cancellation, remote work and social distancing have the potential to disrupt our lives physically, socially and economically,” states the Grow Garretson press release. “The fund exists to proactively help those who have been adversely financially impacted and will deploy resources to meet the evolving needs of the community.”
Grow Garretson intends to work closely with The Treasure Chest, the Garretson School District, and area churches to gather referrals, instead of having a full application process.
“The idea is that we would be issuing grants, so to speak, on the recommendation of our partners,” said Hofer during the council meeting. “Rather than having a big application process, where people would have to fill out big applications, they would be the people who know, they’re the people who are on the frontlines working with the community and those in need, and what we would try to do is issue gift certificates to local businesses where possible… but also be open to issuing checks to community members if the need was something other than a local business can provide.”
Most of the grants will be issued in the form of Garretson Bucks, the gift certificates provided by the Garretson Commercial Club. This means that money will also benefit local businesses, infusing them with funds at a time of need.
The City granted the funding request from the third-penny sales tax, which can only be used for community promotion or betterment. While the fund is not large, it is very specific as to what it can be used for, and the community relief fund is a perfect example of that.
Local community members and businesses are asked to help contribute to the fund as well. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks can be made out to Grow Garretson and mailed to the Gazette office at PO Box 327, Garretson, SD 57030.
Grow Garretson will be releasing further details as to how to donate via their website, GrowGarretson.com/relief-fund. In order to apply, they ask applicants to contact one of their partners.
