Church receives second COVID-19 grant

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
 
A couple of months ago, Christ Episcopal Church in Newcastle received a $10,000 grant from the Foundation for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming to aid in COVID-19 relief. The church distributed the money among various businesses and organizations around town, such as the Weston County Senior Center Meals on Wheels, FOCUS Inc., Little Ones Daycare, and high school science teacher Jim Stith for his 3-D printing project to make masks. 
According to junior warden Janet Hutchinson, the church applied for a second grant and received $11,740 to help the community as it continues to battle the effects of the virus. 
“We’ve heard of further needs in the area,” Hutchinson said. And that was the reason why they applied for another grant. 
Some of the money was once again donated to Stith, FOCUS and Meals on Wheels. The other money was allotted to the Weston County Library, Totes of Hope, Sheila Gregory’s Custom Care Day Care and Jennifer Smith’s Itty Bitty Child Care. 
According to library director Brenda Mahoney-Ayres, the money will be used to purchase larger quantities of hand sanitizer and masks, as well as new books, including large-print editions, because the budget normally used to purchase books was cut. 
“We’re greatly appreciative of it,” Mahoney-Ayres said. 
Totes of Hope, which has for years sent home bags of food with students for the weekend, has continued providing food for students in the community during quarantine and will continue to do so throughout summer, according to Eileen Vickers. 
Vickers said that they averaged sending 50 bags a week during the school year, and now they send
out 100 bags of food twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. 
“We have so many more kids in need,” Vickers said. 
The money from the church will help to buy more food, including fruits and vegetables, to reduce child hunger in Newcastle, and is distributed from the school buses on the normal bus routes. 
The idea behind Totes of Hope was sparked in Vickers when she noticed students arriving hungry at school on Monday. 
“That shouldn’t happen in our community,” Vickers said. 
So, after doing some research, Vickers and Sue Simon started Totes of Hope in Weston County many years ago and have been doing it ever since. 
“The community has been so generous funding and keeping it going,” Vickers said. “It’s really awesome to help.” 
Sheila Gregory took a hit to her business when COVID-19 affected the economy, and even though she remained open, business was skeletal, and she still had to pay wages to her employees.
“My day care went from 14 kids to four,” Gregory said. 
She only had four essential workers who used her services from March 17 to May 1, she said, and she’s not sure what she would have done without them. With the donation from the church, as well as some teachers who continued to pay her even though they worked from home, Gregory was able to keep her doors open. 
“They’ll never know how much I appreciate it,” Gregory said. 
She’s been in the business for over 30 years, and if teachers don’t return to school in August, she’s not sure if she can survive the year, so she’s hoping school will open.
Half of the money will be used to pay off back payments from lost income, and the other money will be used to buy more sand for the 24-by-24-foot sandbox in Gregory’s outdoor play area. She said she doesn’t have good surfacing, and every year, more sand is needed. 
Gregory laughed.
“I don’t know if the kids put sand in their pockets or what,” she said. 
Jennifer Smith, of Itty Bitty Child Care, said that she will use half the money for a privacy fence in her yard and the rest for monthly expenses she had during quarantine since she was “ordered to close other than to essential workers.” Although she was available to essential workers, most of the parents worked at home, but now Smith has opened her business again. 
“I am open again at full capacity, with special health precautions being practiced,” Smith said. “(I) am extremely grateful.”
As Newcastle continues to battle the economic effects of COVID-19, the Christ Episcopal Church is doing its part to help the community. 
“We’re just really happy we can help the community during this difficult time,” Hutchinson said.