W&G Launches new Community Giving Program
PRESS RELEASE
W&G LAUNCHES COMMUNITY GIVING PROGRAM
On April 24, 2020, Wallace & Graham, P.A. proudly launched its new charitable support effort, Wallace & Graham Gives, with an initial $10,000.00 donation to the Rowan County United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund. The funds come with designations that the money be used to benefit local nonprofit, Rowan Helping Ministries, with its programming to assist the situationally homeless with basic needs: food, medications, and temporary and permanent housing.
Wallace & Graham is a local law firm of over 60 attorneys and legal professionals rooted in Rowan County. Since our inception in 1981, our firm has been committed to supporting the community by working with local clients, and through local charitable giving. Wallace & Graham Gives has been launched to publicly show that commitment. Our initial donation is just the beginning, as our firm commits to continue supporting charitable causes close to the heart, for the benefit of our clients and our community.
As the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic bears down on Rowan County, our community is seeing significant impacts on citizens who have lost their jobs and have been living paycheck-to-paycheck in hotels and boarding houses because they cannot afford permanent housing. These citizens were already precariously housed but now face homelessness because the government’s moratorium on housing evictions does not apply in these situations.
To help these individuals avoid homelessness and hunger, Rowan Helping Ministries has – under the greatest of stakes and circumstances - quickly and effectively pivoted its programming to assist those in need. Since March 13, 2020, Rowan Helping Ministries has used its board, staff, and over 50 volunteers to:
- Distribute 51,044 pounds of donated and purchased food and 69,770 pounds of USDA TEFAP foods;
- Serve 1,166 families through its Food Pantry;
- Repurpose its family rooms in the shelter to serve homeless individuals waiting on COVID-19 test results;
- Repurpose its crisis assistance interview rooms to shelter in place homeless individuals while they are evaluated for COVID-19 symptoms;
- Serve 3 meals a day to shelter guests and noon to-go lunches every day;
- Assist 11 homeless individuals with income move to permanent housing;
- Develop a collaborative program with Hood Theological Seminary and Catawba College to house and feed the situationally homeless;
- Refocus resources through its New Tomorrows program to support job placement and mental health;
- Create a “Counting our Blessings” board to continually thank their community angels, volunteers, and partners who make their work on behalf of the needy possible.
Our firm is honored to launch our Wallace and Graham Gives campaign with a donation to The Rowan County United Way to benefit the strong work plan of Rowan Helping Ministries.
“On behalf of our firm and clients, we thank The Rowan County United Way and Rowan Helping Ministries for their swift and effective reaction to COVID-19, and for their passion and call to action to serve those whose lives have been affected in our community. COVID-19 is a test of our collective strength. Our firm is eager to do our part in showing the strength of this community.”