The coronavirus pandemic has shocked all of us – but especially the homeless. We’ve operated our shelter for 38 years and we were open until NYC told us we had to close. When we reopen, we will welcome several women who will stay with us for several weeks, some for months. Most of them will have had regular jobs prior to the crisis, and we hope that this part of their lives recovers quickly.
These women will be a variety of ages and backgrounds: Some are younger adults and are still taking college courses. Others are in their 70’s, and face issues that are unique to the elderly homeless population. Every person is unique. We are proud to offer those needing a safe, welcoming space to sleep while they are working hard to become self-sufficient again.
There are three ways to contribute:
- By Credit Card: Visit our shelter fundraising page on GoFundMe to donate online now!
- By Check: We love checks, too. They should be made payable to United Social Services of the Society for Ethical Culture and mailed to United Social Services, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY 10023
- By Coin: We are always collecting spare change. Please tuck it under your bed until the Ethical Culture meeting house reopens.
Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Every little bit helps. Even though the building that houses the shelter is closed, the fixed costs for running the shelter remain (insurance, volunteer coordinator, etc.) and we need your support to pay for the operating costs for the second half of the year. The Ethical Culture Society’s Social Action Fund supports 65% of the operating costs, the Society donates the space, and volunteers keep it open, but we need help to make ends meet. Thank you for your support!
There are also other ways to help!
From Social Service Board Treasurer Sue Bremer:
Please share this fundraiser with your network. But also ask those you know on social media to support it. For me, that meant asking my husband and kids to help me get the word out. My kids surprised me with the way they promoted it. Here is what they said:
Katie:
Hi everyone! Before lockdown happened, my mom had been volunteering with the Ethical Culture Society at their homeless women’s shelter for about four years. While we have all been hit hard by our states’ various lockdown measures, the homeless population is among those groups that have been hardest hit. Unfortunately, amidst the chaos of this pandemic, the Ethical Culture Women’s Shelter has been forced to close its doors. The shelter needs financial support in order to continue paying its fixed expenses until lockdown is lifted in NYC.
While I know a lot of us are going through hard financial times right now, it would mean a lot to my family, my mom, the Ethical Culture Society, and the community that the Society serves if you could donate money to the shelter. These funds will help ensure that the shelter will still be there to help more vulnerable, homeless women at the end of this pandemic. This shelter has been serving NYC for 38 years, and it is our hope that it will be able to continue serving our city for decades more to come! Thank you if you’ve read this far. Any donation amount, no matter how small or how large, will help keep the shelter alive. If you are unable to donate, then you might also please consider sharing this fundraiser on your page to help get the word out. Thanks and stay safe!
David:
Hi guys, I know I don’t post often but my mom has volunteered at a homeless shelter for a while now, helping some very vulnerable women get back on their feet. Obviously the pandemic has only made homeless people’s lives even harder by disrupting homeless services and making even more people destitute through job loss. While the shelter is currently closed due to the shut down, they‘re holding a fundraiser to help keep the doors open in the fall and it would mean a lot to me, my family, and the homeless people they help if you donated.
So ask your social media savvy friends and family members to share this fundraiser – just send them this link. Maybe you’ll get an introduction that warms your heart, like the ones my kids wrote. Or maybe you’ll just get “My aunt (uncle) asked me to share this fundraiser with you.” – which is what I thought my son would write. All of it is good. We want to make the scope of who we’re reaching out to as wide as possible.
