The most wonderful time of the year looks a bit different in 2020, but Cleveland’s community development corporations (CDCs) have been operating amid change since March.

Dealing with COVID-19’s difficulties and regulations for nine-plus months prepared CDCs to collect food, toys, and funds differently and more frequently for the food pantries and residents in their neighborhoods this holiday season. That meant online giving, more food distributions than normal, additional partnerships, and other creative solutions to meet growing needs.

“People are more generous around the holidays because the need is more visible, but demand has gone up since the pandemic, exponentially, at all of the pantries,” says Scott Rosenstein, community involvement manager for Tremont West Development Corporation.

To help these individuals, BPDC banded together with St. Paul AME and Blessed Trinity as well as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Neighborhood Family Practice to form the Community Essential Needs Collective earlier this year. Armed with CARES Act and fundraising dollars, the group has been able to provide food and other essentials while keeping residents up to date on developments around COVID-19 with information from Neighborhood Family Practice and utility assistance and other gap filling with from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Read the full article from Fresh Water Cleveland here.