{"id":2457755,"date":"2020-04-27T22:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T04:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/roaring-fork-nonprofits-collaborate-to-support-immigrant-families-during-covid-19\/"},"modified":"2020-04-27T22:48:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T04:48:00","slug":"roaring-fork-nonprofits-collaborate-to-support-immigrant-families-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/roaring-fork-nonprofits-collaborate-to-support-immigrant-families-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Roaring Fork nonprofits collaborate to support immigrant families during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"439\" height=\"561\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/nonprofits-atd-042820.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/nonprofits-atd-042820.jpg 439w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/nonprofits-atd-042820-235x300.jpg 235w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 439px) 100vw, 439px\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Over this coming week, $200,000 will be distributed to 200 immigrant families in need from Aspen to Parachute as part of a tri-nonprofit partnership and collaborative COVID-19 relief effort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The partnership is headed by MANAUS, a social justice nonprofit that centers on collaboration, community organizing and \u201chuman-centered design\u201d to create sustainable solutions to local issues and to further equity within Roaring Fork area communities, according to its website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Through $50,000 from MANAUS; a $50,000 contribution from the 2020 Rescue Fund, a charitable fund with the Aspen Community Foundation created by three Aspen locals to get relief money from donors to residents as effectively and efficiently as possible; and $100,000 from Valley Settlement, a Carbondale-based nonprofit and former MANAUS project dedicated to supporting immigrant families, together the three nonprofits are working to bolster the emergency financial assistance available to the region\u2019s immigrant community which may not have access to COVID-19 relief funds otherwise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMANAUS is not traditionally a direct service organization but we do serve the same populations as our nonprofit partners and are committed to serving our immigrant neighbors,\u201d said Sydney Schalit, executive director of MANAUS. \u201cWe\u2019re aiming to support immigrant families who may not be able to access other government support networks due to their documentation status.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to Schalit, the $200,000 will be split into $1,000 grants and distributed to 200 individuals and families as $950 of \u201cimmediate cash\u201d directly deposited into a bank account, given as a check or literally as cash; and a $50 deposit into a LaMedichi savings account, though accessible if needed at any time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">LaMedichi is a savings and loan app geared toward people who may be \u201cbank averse,\u201d namely due their U.S. citizenship or immigration status. Launched as a MANAUS project three years ago, the app has served 300 members as a trusted place to save money and receive savings and financial literacy education and guidance from LaMedichi ambassadors, Schalit said. LaMedichi members earn 3% annual interest on their savings and are able to borrow money in emergency situations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But since April 9, the app has functioned as the mechanism for MANAUS\u2019 financial aid application and emergency fund distribution process, ensuring the rapid deployment of relief monies and encouraging its members to continue the habit of saving, if possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to Elaine Grossman, Valley Settlement\u2019s interim executive director, all of its nonprofit\u2019s future emergency funds will go through the LaMedichi app, allowing for more collaborative, quicker distribution of financial aid to families \u201cliving through this crisis without a safety net,\u201d Grossman said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But while Schalit said MANAUS is incredibly grateful for all of its partners \u2014 including Colorado Trust, a health equity foundation that also is set to contribute $150,000 to the emergency fund this week \u2014 she believes the nonprofit will run out of its emergency funds by the end of the week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As of Monday morning, Schalit said MANAUS has given $1,000 grants to 380 individuals and families, totaling $380,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Schalit anticipates that distribution total will reach $600,000 by Friday thanks to the contribution of generous donors and other organization partners, but said MANAUS plans to rally more support to continue to ensure immigrant families have access to the critical financial aid they may need.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re so fortunate to have such generous partners and will continue to raise money for the emergency fund,\u201d Schalit said. \u201cBut as much as it is about emergency assistance it\u2019s also about maintaining dignity and giving every person in our community a chance to survive this horrendous crisis we\u2019re going through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/roaring-fork-nonprofits-collaborate-to-support-immigrant-families-during-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over this coming week, $200,000 will be distributed to 200 immigrant families in need from Aspen to Parachute as part of a tri-nonprofit partnership and collaborative COVID-19 relief effort. The partnership is headed by MANAUS, a social justice nonprofit that centers on collaboration, community organizing and \u201chuman-centered design\u201d to create sustainable solutions to local issues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 22:17:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}