Update 3/31/20: Thank you! More than 560 listeners came together last week to donate more than $85,000 for essential news and critical assistance to Vermonters during the coronavirus pandemic. We are so grateful for your generosity.
Original Post: Vermont Public Radio and the Vermont Community Foundation are joining forces to help our community rebuild and recover from the COVID-19 outbreak in Vermont, while ensuring access to critical news and information.
For every gift that VPR receives through Sunday, March 29, 50% will be donated to the Vermont Community Foundation’s VT COVID-19 Response Fund, while 50% will power the essential news and connection VPR is providing to the community during the pandemic.
We know VPR listeners are passionate about Vermont and their communities, and hope you’ll make a donation todayto support two essential organizations with one gift.
In a time of uncertainty and anxiety, people want and need timely and trusted information based in facts, not fear.
In a time of social distancing, school closures, restrictions on public gatherings and working remotely becoming the norm, people need to feel connected with each other, their neighbors and the larger community.
And in a time of economic and financial insecurity, people need assistance and support to make it through the tough times now and the challenges awaiting all of us in the future.
The Vermont Community Foundation established the VT COVID-19 Response Fund to extend and expand the capacity of nonprofits that are particularly equipped to address community impacts of the spread of the coronavirus in Vermont.
The funds raised will be deployed in two phases: the first will address immediate needs of Vermonters around food, elder care, childcare, and basic human needs. The second will support longer-term economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working with state, federal, municipal, public health, and nonprofit leadership, the Community Foundation will provide flexible resources to nonprofits working to address the most immediate public health and economic impacts of the disease, focusing on vulnerable populations and the service providers that support them.
“This public health emergency is unprecedented in our recent history, and now is the time to be thinking about how to support response today and recovery in the future,” said Vermont Community Foundation President & CEO Dan Smith. “If you’ve ever thought about giving, now is the time to do it. It’s going to be a long process, but the community efforts we’ve seen are inspiring and exemplify the social fabric that makes Vermont resilient.”
As this crisis unfolds, the staff at Vermont Public Radio is working tirelessly to continue our regular programming while ramping up our news-gathering operations—while preparing as best we can for whatever comes next.
We know how important it is to have accurate, timely information right now, and that you’re counting on VPR more than ever to provide it. In response, we’ve expanded our programming, adding local newscasts, expanding Vermont Edition to two hours, launching a email newsletter with daily updates on coronavirus in Vermont, and creating a weekly call-in program with Morning Edition host Mitch Wertlieb to hear directly from Vermonters about how they are coping. That’s all in addition to the incredible work and new resources being provided by NPR.
This coverage, like all of our content, is always freely accessible — never behind a paywall. Your support today will help our community recover and help VPR focus on serving you at this critical time.
Vermonters need information and connection and want to lend a helping hand to neighbors in need. A gift to this effort will make an important impact today and for the days to come.
“Listeners look to VPR not just for news and information, but for connections to our community and solutions to the problems we face,” said Scott Finn, VPR president & CEO. “Despite the enormity of this crisis, it’s inspiring to see Vermonters rising up and reaching out to help.”
VPR has a long history of fundraising for critical causes. After 9/11, VPR held a campaign to help replace WNYC’s transmitter, raised money for the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and for the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund following Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
Please remember that there are many community organizations that need support in these times and the VT COVID-19 Response Fund offers donors an opportunity to be part of a coordinated response to the many impacts of COVID-19 in Vermont—we hope you are able to help. Also, if you would rather make a direct contribution to the VT COVID-19 Response Fund, we encourage you to do so at the Vermont Community Foundation’s website.
In Vermont, we value strong communities and helping one another. Your gift today will support the critical news you need right now and also help your neighbors who need a leg up. Thank you for being part of our community!
