The Sidney United Way has established a "Sidney Area COVID-19 Relief Fund" to support the local community during these times of crisis.  The fund will go to assist Sidney are non-profits who are struggling to keep up with their individual missions to serve the community.

The Sidney United Way seeded the fund with an initial $10,000 donation.  This was quickly added to with a matching fund from the Sidney Central School Alumni Association.

SCSAA President Doug Sheldon said:

"The Sidney Alumni Association has long believed in ‘giving back’ to the community that raised us, educated us, developed our culture and our character and opened up the world for us to choose our own path.  Given health and happiness and some measure of success we believe to look back and then give back.

The Alumni has been involved with both school and community in many ways and with a number of grants* over the years, but now is a time perhaps exceeding the negative economic effects of the two 100-year floods in 2006 and 2011.

At the invitation of Sidney United Way, the Sidney Alumni Association immediately agreed to co-organize a relief fund and seed it with $10,000 donations in order to be ready, able and willing to specifically support Sidney area non-profit organizations whose missions may be compromised or completely foiled by loss of event income or loss of donations.

The COVID-19 RELIEF FUND committee will invite area business to contribute and to join an administrative committee to receive grant applications and determine grants."

Dennis Porter, Executive Director of the Sidney United Way, said he hopes "this fund will be a recovery fund to help area nonprofit organizations get back to fulfilling their goals."

To make a donation send your check, with "COVID-19 Relief Fund" in the memo section, to Sidney United Way, PO BX 14, Sidney, NY 13838.  For more information contact Dennis Porter at dporter@binghamtonwireless.com

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