Food and shelter are basic needs and United Way is committed to providing as much assistance as possible during this unsettling time.  The Marathon County Hunger Coalition has been in partnership with school districts in Marathon County including the Wausau School District, DC Everest School District, Edgar, Abbotsford, Colby, Athens, and Marathon. This is a community effort and will continue to be a collaboration between the school districts, food pantries and nonprofits. Food distribution lines are extremely stressed and we are leveraging multiple suppliers right now. United Way is also working closely with The Neighbors' Place, as we know the impacts of this pandemic will be long term.

United Way provided assistance when the Warming Center moved physical locations this past month. Catholic Charities Warming Center has a new temporary location to adhere to social distancing recommendations. The temporary location is at the East Gate Hall in Marathon Park. The location was donated by the Parks and Recreation Department. Because of the Safer at Home restrictions, both the Salvation Army and the Warming Center are offering their services 24/7 and staying open.

United Way of Marathon County’s 211 Program has seen a sharp increase in both calls and texts since March 11, 2020.  Our call center has taken a total of 1,134 calls during the time period of March 11-26, 2020.  Out of those calls, 395 were individuals with concerns or needs due to COVID-19.  A majority of those COVID-19 calls have been people with question about the virus itself, what to do if they have a medical concern, or what the Governor’s orders mean for them.  There has also been an increase in needs in the community, especially surrounding basic needs.  Several calls have been from people concerned about being able to pay rent and utilities due to layoffs or reduced hours.  Others are concerned with being able to afford food with their children suddenly home and not eating at school each day.  We have also been able to connect callers who are in a high risk category (elderly and immunocompromised) to resources they wouldn’t otherwise need, such as grocery and prescription delivery. 

 As organizations in our community work to balance service provision with public safety, United Way's 211 is working to keep our resource database up to date with the most current information on health, human service, and government programs, as well as new resources that may be coming into being specifically targeting those affected by COVID-19.

In conjunction with local health officials, we are working to slow the spread of the person-to-person transmission, particularly those who are most vulnerable to infection and severe disease. We are following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and have postponed events, meetings and gatherings.

Smack Hunger has been rescheduled for September 9, 2020 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm at Marathon Park. With the event being months away we will not be promoting engagement until the date is closer. We thank you for your understanding and look forward to seeing you and your team in September!