PROVIDENCE – Diane Shemtov says she has a hard time sleeping at night knowing that there are Rhode Islanders that still go to bed hungry.
So when she went to the store to stock up on cleaning supplies in the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Rhode Island, she realized how little stores had due to mass panic buying.
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Spending roughly $40, what she purchased for herself was minimal.
“My first thought was: how are the communities we serve going to prepare for this,” said Shemtov, the senior vice president of strengthening communities at Family Service of Rhode Island.
After watching the pandemic’s fatality numbers grow more alarming in other countries such as China and Italy, the executive team at Family Service of Rhode Island, who help serve nearly 20,000 Rhode Islanders each year, took immediate steps by stockpiling goods to ensure that families across the state had access to cleaning supplies.
Their original goal was to raise $5,000 to fill kits of $25 worth of cleaning supplies like hand sanitizer, wipes, laundry pods, toilet paper and soap for 200 people. Then, the pandemic’s situation grew more difficult hour-by-hour, as schools closed and school-provided lunches stopped. FSRI’s team realized that more would need to be done.
Almost immediately after the launch of the “Be Safe” program, funded entirely by donations sent in by individuals and Rhode Island businesses. FSRI was even asked by the governor to expand statewide as food insecurity grew.
“We’re serving families in every single city and town in Rhode Island,” said CEO of FSRI Margaret Holland McDuff, who explained how difficult it was to get some items, such as PPE supplies when Americans were scrambling to get them and as handmade face mask coalitions were formed.
McDuff outlined the extent of getting these supplies to the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders; from getting Amazon.com Inc. to recognize them as an essential organization to making phone calls with distributors from China with translators in order to identify places to purchase face masks.
“Getting masks was a day-to-day struggle,” said Shemtov.
Weeks later, more than 11,000 people have been helped through FSRI’s “Be Safe” program, which has now expanded to delivering nearly 5,000 kits as of June 1, consisting of cleaning supplies and three to five days worth of food.
And they’re not done yet.
The organization said they will continue for as long as they are able to keep up with supply and demand, which is dependent on the flow of donations. FSRI has received donations from more than 800 individual residents of Rhode Island. The organization has also received aid from 20 businesses in the state, which has allowed FSRI to purchase items in bulk. Companies have also donated goods to add to the kit or helped by lending their own workforce to aid in making deliveries.
Leading one of the current fundraisers to continue these kits is Edward Stachurski, the president of the Realtor Foundation of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors and State-Wide MLS have pledged to match donations up to $10,000 to support the Rhode Island Foundation and FSRI.
According to Stachurski, over the last 20 years, the Foundation has typically focused on military families to help those coming back from active duty for housing assistance, as well as supporting community organizations. In their own fundraising to help support FSRI to continue these kits, they are collecting donations from the public and their own members, such as realtors, appraisers, attorneys and a broad cross section of people in the industry.
“This is more of a unique thing for us by jumping into a specific campaign,” said Stachurski. “We’ve never had a special campaign because we’ve never seen anything come up like this before where we needed to step up and help.”
“Some people are living paycheck to paycheck, or already losing them and falling behind,” said Maggie Slane, the vice president of advancement at FSRI. “We want to make sure that highly vulnerable people aren’t putting themselves at risk. Wherever people need us, we are there.”
Shemtov said she is committed to helping those falling through the cracks until the fall as requests for these kits continue to pile up: from the lowest number of requests in one day at 65, to the most at 306.
“We’re going to keep this up as long as we are able to,” said Shemtov. “And we are hoping the community continues to support the families of Rhode Island.”
To donate to FSRI to continue providing these kits of food and PPE items to Rhode Island’s families, text BESAFE to 44321.
If you are in need of a kit, you may request one in English or Spanish on their website or by leaving a voicemail at 401-519-2283 with your name and number.
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Gagosz@PBN.com.
