The Villages Makes Adjustments Amidst Coronavirus
Sharon Pierce is the former president and CEO of The Villages.
Dear Friend of The Villages,
As you can well imagine, The Villages of Indiana, an organization that touches the lives of 3,100 children each day, is being faced with many difficult decisions amidst the unfolding information and impact of the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). The health and well-being of the children, youth and families we serve, as well as our dedicated staff, foster families, adoptive families and kinship caregivers is our HIGHEST PRIORITY!!
We have increased the frequency and intensity of our surface disinfection, throughout each of our program and office sites, as well as our Children’s Village Early Childhood Development Centers; and hand sanitizer is our new “best friend”! We will also be checking in and “screening” those we are privileged to serve, to make certain that they and their family members are healthy, prior to any home visits or scheduled appointments.
Though ALL of The Villages offices will remain open at this time, many of our staff will be telecommuting, starting tomorrow, March 17th, through at least March 27th. All of our amazing leaders and supervisors are helping us make certain that The Villages vital services and industry leaders continue during these challenging times, while still doing all we can to keep our staff, and all of those with whom we come in contact, safe and healthy.
We will be looking at future events, especially those scheduled during April, during Child Abuse Prevention Month; and following CDC and State Department of Health Guidelines, we will let you know whether or not they will occur, as previously planned, or become VIRTUAL CELEBRATIONS OF CHILD WELL BEING.
Many of you have reached out to us and asked, “HOW CAN I HELP?” Obviously, we are working, tirelessly, each day to make certain that our older youth, aging out of foster care, have adequate food and personal care items … knowing that many of them are in jobs where their hours of employment have been or will be reduced; that our heroic, but elderly, kinship caregivers have the food and supplies they need to “parent” several children; that our foster families, many of whom have already had to miss full workdays because of school closings, have formula, diapers and food to meet the basic needs of the children for whom they have opened their hearts and their homes; and that the more than two thousand families we partner with through Healthy Families, Wrap Around and Post Adoption Programs have the food and gas money they need to navigate these difficult times!
If you would like to partner with us to purchase GIFT CARDS which will help us enable each of these vulnerable youth and families to be able to buy groceries, medication, cleaning supplies or gas, please click here.
Your gifts, unless you otherwise specify, will be designated specifically for this urgent need.
You will help provide confidence, not only for our staff but also for those we serve, that by CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER, we CAN and WILL navigate these “uncharted waters”!
Thank you for your relentless support in these extraordinary times!
Gratefully,
