Berks COVID-19 Response Fund Stories of Hope

COVID Grants in Action: Berks Counseling Center

COVID Grants in Action: Berks Counseling Center

While COVID brought challenges for all of us, imagine the additional complications the pandemic created for those coping with behavioral and mental health issues. Face-to-face sessions between individuals and their physicians and counselors can be challenging to...

COVID Grants in Action: Safe Berks

COVID Grants in Action: Safe Berks

While many of us consider our home a refuge, not everyone’s home is a safe place. The isolation and distancing created by COVID can escalate the risks of domestic violence. Officials at Safe Berks, a United Way agency partner, believe domestic violence cases have been...

COVID Grants in Action: Berks Encore

COVID Grants in Action: Berks Encore

Older adults deserve our care and support, and as COVID continues to create challenges it is imperative homebound seniors receive nutritious meals as they continue to limit their exposure to others. With the support of a grant from United Way’s COVID Response Fund,...

COVID-19 Grant Helps Families in Rural Berks

COVID-19 Grant Helps Families in Rural Berks

With little notice, COVID caused school districts to close abruptly in mid-March. For Marcy Jo, 54 and a bus driver for Hamburg Area School District, this meant a sudden loss of a job and a paycheck. She quickly applied for unemployment, which was a slow process. With...

Serving Women and Children with Help from United Way

Serving Women and Children with Help from United Way

 COVID unleashed a health and economic crisis, like many others, Maria lost her job during the pandemic. Losing her job would have been devastating if she did not have the support of Hannah’s Hope Ministries. “Without Hannah’s Hope I would be homeless,” Maria, 19,...

Facilitating New Partnerships

Facilitating New Partnerships

When R.M. Palmer Company wanted to help our community with the COVID-19 crisis, United Way of Berks County connected them with Helping Harvest in an innovative way.