Tuesday, March 24, 2020
New York Jets kick off fund with $250,000 donation; Donate at UnitedWayNNJ.org/ALICErecovery
United Way of Northern New Jersey today announced the creation of the ALICE Recovery Fund, a crisis recovery fund to address emerging needs related to the COVID-19 impact in its five-county region. The Fund is being launched with a $250,000 donation from the New York Jets.
Contributions will be used to address the near-term and long-term recovery needs of those individuals and families uniquely vulnerable during this crisis — those who already struggled to afford the basics before COVID-19 hit. The Fund will work to ensure the stability of the region’s social service infrastructure and close gaps in needed assistance for households in poverty and those who live paycheck to paycheck, called ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
Donations to the ALICE Recovery Fund can be made online at: UnitedWayNNJ.org/ALICErecovery. To help promote the Fund on Twitter use #ALICErecovery.
“The United Way continues to improve lives around the world and we need community-based organizations more than ever at this moment,” said Jets CEO Christopher Johnson. “Everyone has been impacted by this invisible enemy and the United Way is meeting it head-on at home, helping those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and the economic consequences of the outbreak.”
ALICE households are at high risk of hardship due to illness and economic disruption, according to United Way’s ALICE research. Many ALICE workers do not earn enough to have established savings and do not have basic employee protections — such as an annual salary, adequate health care coverage and access to other benefits that would help them withstand the crisis.
“We are profoundly thankful to the New York Jets for their leadership and generous commitment to supporting our community and ALICE workers,” said United Way of Northern New Jersey CEO Kiran Handa Gaudioso. “ALICE is on the front lines of this crisis as our supermarket workers, home health aides, office cleaning staff, and child care teachers. At United Way, we are committed to protecting the financial, physical and mental health of these workers, who are critical to the well-being of our communities and economy.”
United Way is reaching out through its extensive regional network to assess the current needs and capacity of partner organizations so that families can be connected with the right supports. Across United Way’s five-county northern New Jersey region, 30 percent of households cannot afford the basics and United Way expects more will become ALICE as this crisis persists, Gaudioso added.