United Way of Greenville County announced today that seven local agencies have collectively been awarded $68,000 in the first round of grants from the COVID-19 Community Relief Fund.

With a focus on addressing the community’s most immediate needs of food and housing first, the organizations receiving the first wave of COVID-19 Community Relief Funds include: Project Host, Mill Village Farms, Meals on Wheels, Harvest Hope, United Ministries, Safe Harbor and Miracle Hill.

In applying for the relief funds, the organizations detailed how the pandemic has drastically affected their ability to serve Greenville County’s most vulnerable populations, from bare food pantry shelves to overwhelming requests for emergency shelter for families and individuals. The funding will allow them to address some of the most immediate needs impacting the community.

“We continue to assess how this pandemic is affecting those living in or near poverty, those who do not have access to the most basic resources such as food and safe housing, so that we can direct resources quickly and effectively,” said Meghan Barp, United Way of Greenville County’s president and CEO. “Thanks to the incredible generosity and caring already shown by so many, these first COVID-19 Community Relief Fund grants will meet some very immediate and critical needs. We need even more people to step up and contribute to ensure we can continue to provide support for as long as the impacts of this pandemic are being felt in Greenville County.”

United Way of Greenville County, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Greenville, the F.W. Symmes Foundation, Hollingsworth Funds, the John I Smith Foundation and the Jolley Foundation established the fund to support the local response to the pandemic.

One hundred percent of donations made to the COVID-19 Community Relief Fund will provide relief to people impacted by coronavirus and its effect on the community. Donations can be made securely online at https://www.www.unitedwaygc.org/response or by mailing a check to United Way of Greenville County, 105 Edinburgh Court, Greenville, SC 29607.