To support these incredible staff, others of us have been burning midnight oil to secure essential personal protective equipment (PPE). To date, we have spent about $75,000 in purchasing these critical supplies, but the story ‘behind’ the story is one of extraordinary generosity.
 
With thanks to Ron Halber at the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington and David Bernstein of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs for their support, we were introduced to the
Committee of 100, a Chinese American Leadership group. Less than a week later, the Committee of 100 had arranged a donation of 8000 3ply surgical masks and 200 gowns/coveralls to JFGH. Setting aside that this is a donation of PPE with a value well in excess of $9,000, this amazing group of people simply and forcefully came alongside JFGH in a time of extraordinary need.

We also , very recently, received precious hand sanitizer from several local Planet Fitness clubs. Planet Fitness Growth Partners, through their Chief Operating Officer, Justin Drummond, and the general managers of several local Planet Fitness clubs, having come to understand JFGH’s need for sanitizer, donated virtually all the sanitizer they had in their gyms. No hoops, no hurdles. Their approach to our needs was simply “how can we help?”

We are humbled by the support of our community, and we are touched deeply by the support of strangers who seek only to help us, to dedicate themselves to the people we support and to the fulfillment of our mission. How do we possibly express our thanks adequately?
We also have many of you to thank for your financial support of JFGH through our COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund . Some of you have asked us what is the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The answer is two-fold. For some of our services (for example, our MOST program), when we are closed and unable to provide service, we do not get paid. This is a revenue loss. On the expense side, our direct support professionals (DSP) and related staff costs have increased by 39% over what our typical payroll costs were before the crisis. All of this support is for our DSPs, who are fighting this crisis head-on, risking their own health for the sake of protecting the people we so very proudly support. We urge you to consider making an investment in this battle. Every dollar helps.
 
Thank you so very much for all you are doing to support JFGH. We are here, and we are going nowhere, dedicated without equivocation to the people we support, to their families, to our staff and to the community of which we are part.

Stay well. Stay healthy. We got this.

David
 
David Ervin, JFGH CEO, dervin@jfgh.org