Great need inspires great generosity

Facing once-in-a-lifetime challenges, Delaware County’s spirit of resilience and generosity shined in 2020. Thanks to generous local donors and volunteers, hundreds of families, children and senior citizens received support when they needed it most. The Foundation for the Future of Delaware County launched  the COVID-19 Relief Fund and partnered with Delaware County Pay It Forward to transform  local generosity into solutions for those facing new financial hardship.

Early in the pandemic, the Foundation made a grant from the Relief Fund to Pay It Forward to cover the cost of medications for individuals who needed assistance. Donna Boss, a former health care worker who understands the importance of access to lifesaving medications, made a gift to the Relief Fund to support the pharmacy program. “My husband, Todd, and I were raised to give back, and it made wonderful sense to give to this program,” she says.

As the months passed, Boss and her fellow COVID-19 Relief Fund committee members Lisa Guetzko, Tanya Burnett, Jerry Burke and Vicki Spellerberg awarded grants to provide gas, grocery cards and child care support to residents who found themselves in crisis.

By Christmas, families were still struggling. While unable to gather for the holidays, they also mourned the loss of loved ones and struggled to pay for necessities. Once again, the Foundation awarded a grant to Pay It Forward, this time to provide Christmas gifts.

“Every family deserves to have what they need, and every child deserves to feel the magic of Christmas,” say Matt and Anna Drees, who made a gift on behalf of Drees Construction. “When people pull together, we can make a big impact. We are all in this together.”

Your gift to the Foundation today helps our community face tomorrow’s challenges head on. To learn more, contact Nancy Preussner at 563-920-5590 or ffdc@dbqfoundation.org.