Community Services & Resources:

$1,000 Grants for Artists. The Mass Cultural Council has launched a COVID-19 Relief Fund to support individuals whose creative practices and incomes are adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The application deadline is April 22. Find all the details here.

Action Inc. continues to provide services via phone appointments and email. Action’s Emergency Shelter remains open and operational. All Main Office and Energy Office services will be available Monday – Friday 9am-5pm. If you have general inquiries or questions, please call 978-282-1000 or help@actioninc.org. You can also live chat with team members at actioninc.org.

Action Inc. continues to offer assistance through the Cape Ann Emergency Relief Fund. They want to reach as many eligible, hourly-employed people as possible. Here is a link to their website with information about eligibility and how to apply. Apply by calling 978-282-1000 x234 or emailing caerf@actioninc.org. Action Inc. also has a COVID-19 Resource Page with links to help residents with housing, employment, behavioral health issues, and more. 

Action Inc. Update. More affordable housing will soon become a reality for downtown Gloucester. In addition to the 30 rental units, there will also be approx. 2,000 sqft of retail space on the ground floor. For more details, including photos of the former Cameron’s site under construction, please click here.

Backyard Growers: Grow Food Safely and Stay Healthy. Backyard Growers has launched an online shop, offering Gloucester and Rockport residents compost, seeds, and new GrowBags. Contact-free payments and contact-free home delivery for Gloucester and Rockport residents. Seedlings will be available in a couple of weeks. Also, they still have a few spots left in the Backyard Garden Program for income-eligible older adults (62+). Program includes a raised garden bed in their backyard, supplies, training, and resources for successful growing.

The Cape Ann Emergency Relief Fund has surpassed its target and is on course to raise more than $250,000. The Fund, launched by Action Inc. in conjunction with the City of Gloucester and the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, has been supported by hundreds of local individuals and businesses. Action Inc. is now distributing Relief Fund checks to qualifying workers for $500 in direct financial assistance.

• Cape Ann Emergency Relief Fund Update. To date Action Inc. and their partners have raised over $350,000 for the fund and more significant donations are expected in the coming days. Action Inc. has raised a further $55,000 as an additional supplementary fund from ECCF and Mass COVID fund for vulnerable subpopulations hardest hit by the pandemic. As of May 27, Action has provided payments to 227 families, distributing a total of $113,500. Today Action Inc. will announce plans to provide additional assistance, and in the coming weeks they will reassess additional changes to the eligibility and distribution processes.

Cape Ann Tourism Facebook Group. Members of the Chamber’s Tourism Council have formed a Facebook Group to share ideas, enable discussions, and promote information and resources that can enable a strong, safe and viable tourism industry North of Boston in and around Cape Ann.

Care Dimensions provides hospice and palliative care to many here on Cape Ann. They are experiencing increased demand for crucial medical supplies, emergency financial assistance to cover patient care and more requests from patients for help meeting critical, non-medical expenses such as groceries, utilities and rent. If you would like to support their clinical teams and their patients and families, please visit here.

CARRYOUTMA. We invite our readers to check out this new website created by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. This is a great resource designed to help us support our favorite local eateries offering take-out, curbside pick-up and delivery services.

CATA has modified its weekday bus schedule to accommodate changes in customer travel patterns, provide more consistent service, and sustain appropriate social distancing. Saturday service will run on a regular Saturday schedule, with exception of the Mall Bus. The modified weekly schedule is available by visiting www.canntran.com.

Children's Friend and Family is continuing to provide outpatient mental health therapy via telehealth, and is accepting referrals for persons with all forms of MassHealth. People in need of services are invited to call 978-283-7198, and follow the prompts for intake. Referral forms are also available here. They currently have no wait for In-Home Therapy, a service to support families with youth under 21. Children’s Friend and Family is actively exploring the needs of the community in these trying times and will be offering virtual groups in addition to their already established services in the near future. 

Discover Gloucester is offering business sector “Guest Preparedness” roundtable conversations. For the first session, on Wednesday, May 13 at 11 am, the focus will be on businesses in Cape Ann’s attractions and arts & culture sectors. Following that on Thursday, May 14 at 2 pm, attention will turn to Cape Ann’s restaurant sector. On Friday, May 15 at 11 am, the spotlight will be on Cape Ann’s retailers. For more information and to register RSVP to Elizabeth Carey at ecarey@discovergloucester.com.

Element Care/PACE announces measures they are taking to care for the many frail elders in their program and protect staff. Read the full story on their website here.

Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) announced that it has awarded a second round of rapid response grants from its Essex County COVID-19 Response Fund, established in March to support nonprofits on the frontlines of the pandemic response. This second round of grants – which totals $130,000 – focuses on organizations serving the homeless population. Read all the details here.

Gloucester Education Foundation has partnered with local teachers and volunteers to organize an effort to manufacture 100 face shields a day using 3-D printers at Gloucester High School and O’Maley Innovation Middle School. These shields are free to anyone in need, to protect front line and essential business workers against the coronavirus. If you or an organization you know is in need of face shields, please contact larissa@thinkthebest.org to place an order. To support the project, donate to their GoFundMe Campaign or click here for more information

Job Postings Welcome. We encourage Chamber members to use us as a resource to post job openings as Aberdeen Home Care has done. Link All CACC members have an online account where they can post a job listing. View current job listings here. To learn how to post job openings for your business, please contact Olivia Perez-O’Dess at olivia@capeannchamber.com.

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) will offer grants of up to $10,000 to non-profits to address immediate financial peril, limit layoffs, avoid gaps in employee benefits or insurance, mitigate economic instability and increase the likelihood of business survival. To learn more about LISC click here. The link to the application will be available online beginning Monday, April 20. Sign up to receive updates here.

The Open Door: The Open Door is making every effort to keep our programs operating during this COVID-19 (Coronavirus) event, with some adjustments. Please check their Facebook page for updates. The Gloucester Food Pantry remains open Monday–Friday, 10 AM–5 PM, for curbside pick-up only.

The Open Door’s #MyBowlAtHome Tribute. The Empty Bowl Dinner has been a long-standing community tradition that brings us together each spring. We won't gather for the annual Empty Bowl Dinner this month as we have for the past 20 years, but The Open Door has created a fun way to still come together—while staying apart. They are inviting us to join them in our #MyBowlAtHome Tribute where we can still #ShowUsYourBowls and be #CommunityStrong. From May 21 through May 31, take a picture with your favorite empty bowl (or bowls!) from years past and share them on social media with your friends and family.

Pathways for Children teachers and social workers have reached out to all enrolled families to assess needs and provide resources. Pathways staff continues to return calls to 978-515-5330 within 24 hours. In addition Pathways is hosting positive youth groups, early intervention social skills groups, and parenting support groups via Zoom and has added robust social service and educational family resources to their frequently updated website. Pathways has established an Emergency Response Fund (ERF) to help maintain steady support for their children, families and programs. Donations to the ERF will help ensure that Pathways is well-positioned to respond effectively to the emerging needs of the most at-risk children and families. Pathways is accepting donations to the ERS online at https://www.pw4c.org. 

Rose Baker Senior Center staff continue their efforts to remain in contact with seniors at home with wellness reassurance telephone calls from the senior center and staff from their homes. Calls to seniors provide support and information for available services. A wellness visit is provided as needed to a senior we are unable to reach by telephone. Delivery of Meals on Wheels continues each day from the senior center to seniors at home. Reservations for a "Grab a Meal" received at the rear of the senior center are available every day by calling 978 281-9765. Seniors needing delivery to your door of books, puzzles, and cards, please call 978 281-9765.

Sharing Some Fun Cape Ann Chamber History. 1623 Studios recently interviewed Cape Ann photographer, historian and raconteur Les Bartlett. Les recounted the story of the 1925 road trip from Gloucester to Florida to promote summer tourism on Cape Ann. To see the full interview, including a vintage photo of the Chamber’s classic Reo Sedan on YouTube, please click here.

SCORE Is Looking For Volunteers. If you can give back, SCORE Northeast Massachusetts needs your help. “Our work depends on our amazing volunteers. We are proud to help small businesses in the area, and would love to have you as part of our team.” To learn more about SCORE and how to become a SCORE volunteer, click here.

SeniorCare Message: May is Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is “Make Your Mark” to remind us of and “celebrate countless contributions that older adults make to our communities.” To learn more about SeniorCare’s services, and COVID-19 resources please click here.

“We Are All In This Together Gloucester” Facebook Group. This group was started on March 21 “with the goal of coming together and helping each other during this current health crisis. We currently service both Gloucester and Rockport with 5137 members,” reports founder Patty Wall. To learn more, including ways that you can help and support their cause, please visit here.

Wellspring continues to provide Homelessness Prevention & Employment Support services via phone appointments, email, & video conferencing. The Family Shelter remains open and operational. The Shelter is full at this time. If you have questions please call 978-281-3558 Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. Staff contact information is available here.

The YMCA of the North Shore is providing free emergency child care for the children of parents required to work. See details here.