Support your neighbors in hard times with the Worker Crisis Fund

These are exactly the questions that Sara, a single mom living in a rental home in Honesdale, had to ask herself when her car was in need of a repair costing just over $1,000. Luckily, though, Sara was aware of a community resource, the Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance. The staff at the Workforce Alliance knew who to call. After exploring other funding options and coming up short, they made the connection to the Wayne County Community Foundation. Ryanne Jennings, our President/CEO, was able to reach out to the donors advising the Michael J. Bryant Fund to support Sara’s expenses and help her remain employed at a local school district. This allowed her to keep her two kids in stable housing and get them to their scheduled doctors appointments without disruption. The “village” came to support this family in a time of need and it made a world of difference for Sara.

Sara says, “I just hope they (the Foundation) are able to help other people in that way. Car repairs and help with maintaining…that's not something that's out there for help, so having that resource out there for families would be great. People don't think about how fast car repairs add up. I tried everything, but no one could help. Getting that help made such a difference.”

This one experience inspired us to establish the Wayne County Worker Crisis Fund, a partnership with the Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance to support individuals accessing their services but running into barriers to employment that aren’t supported through other state and federal programs. A field of interest fund like this wouldn’t be possible without The Wayne County Community Foundation being integrated and having long-standing relationships with the nonprofits that serve our community directly.