Healthy Community Initiative

Spring 2020 was unlike any other YouthBank had ever seen!  As the country went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic the YouthBank team had to re-think how they could connect with their peers and have a positive impact on the community.  The team decided to not hold a traditional grant round and instead funded two projects that they led.

With students at home and learning remotely, the school district delivered free breakfasts and lunches daily to five neighborhood gathering spots for families to access.  The YouthBank team recognized that free food was just one of the supports that families needed and partnered with the school district to send out bins of free supplies that families could access along with the free breakfasts and lunches.  For seven weeks in April and May of 2020 the YouthBank team stocked free bins school supplies, toiletries and art supplies.  Bins were sent out daily on the buses delivering food and were accessed over and over again.  During this very stressful time period, the free materials enabled families to both meet basic needs (toiletries and school supplies) and have art projects to fill their time while being socially distanced.