LAKELAND, Fla. – Girls Inc. of Lakeland and Bartow is facing major financial difficulties due to the coronavirus.
- Girls Inc of Lakeland has been closed since mid-March
- The organization is now struggling financially
- Girls Inc is holding an online fundraiser to help
The coronavirus pandemic caused Girls Inc. to close its centers in Lakeland and Bartow mid-March, in order to comply with the Safer-at-Home order and prevent anyone from contracting or spreading the virus. The youth center for girls offers after-school programs and summer camp.
While remaining hopeful and planning for changes that incorporate social distancing, president of the organization, Kay Fields said it’s still unclear if they’ll be permitted to have summer camp. They’re waiting on the governor to reopen non-essential businesses.
The closure means weekly fees from parents are no longer rolling in.
“We’ve been struggling trying to make sure we’re able to make payroll. We don’t want any of our staff not to continue to be employed,” Kay Fields said.
Some relief came recently when the agency received funding for employees through mid-June, through the Paycheck Protection Program.
The restrictions on groups gathering also forced the organization to cancel its three major fundraising events. Fields estimates they’ve lost between $50 and $55,000 between the lack of weekly fees and events. It’s the reason she and the organization’s board came up with an online fundraising campaign.
“We came up with this idea of doing an initiative that’s called 25 for 25 for Girls Inc. This is where we have 24 board members along with myself and everyone is responsible for contacting 25 people and asking them to give $25 or more towards our efforts with the situation at hand,” Fields said.
While they wait for answers on when they can reopen, Fields said she and her 13 employees have been working from home, calling to check on the girls in the program, reading to them virtually, and even hosting cooking lessons online.
“We’re getting ready to do some zoom classes with the girls. We’re going to be doing homework assistance if need be. We’re going to also be doing tutoring by way of Zoom,” Fields said.