According to County Executive Calvin Ball, in Howard County, approximately one in every ten members of the workforce is impacted by the federal government shutdown. In additional to the furloughed government employees, Howard County is replete with federal contractors who are not expected to receive “back pay” for the days the federal government is closed.
Many of those impacted are not otherwise eligible for subsidized food, housing, childcare or other necessities of life. According to Bita Dayhoff, President of the Community Action Council which runs the Howard County Food Bank, to date 12 families have reached out to the Food Bank for food assistance as a result of the shutdown and the longer the shutdown the greater the projected need.
If you’d like to make a donation to the Howard County Food Bank and you have a donor-advised fund with the Foundation, please go to your Donor Central login and make a grant to the “Community Action Council” for the purpose of supporting the Howard County Food Bank/Furloughed Federal Workers. Such donations will be accounted for so as not to adversely impact CAC’s normal eligibility requirements for federal food support. You can also make a donation of food or ancillary materials. I’d encourage you to go onto CAC’s website to see what food or ancillary items are most needed and their schedule for receiving donations.
For those of you who may be directly impacted by this furlough, click here to view a graphic prepared by Howard County Government which includes resources and information to help you navigate this unexpected disruption to your life.
Of course, you can always give me a call at (410) 730-7840 or send me an email at bwhiteseals@cfhoco.org if you’d like to learn more about what our local nonprofits are doing to address this crisis.
Your partner in philanthropy,
Beverly White-Seals
President & CEO