Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | March 15, 2021 | wbjournal.com A W A R D S H A L L O F F A M E A W A R D S & Help us honor these remarkable leaders in a unique way! The event is free, however registration is required to receive links to the virtual celebration and networking session. PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL VIRTUAL AWARDS CELEBRATION As we recognize the achievements of Worcester Business Journal's 2021 Business Leaders of the Year and Hall of Fame honorees! Presenting sponsors WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2021 • 4:00-5:30PM Register at: www.wbjournal.com/businessleaders WBJ Hall of Fame inductee Matilde "Mattie" Castiel Commissioner of Health and Human Services City of Worcester WBJ Hall of Fame inductee Susan West Engelkemeyer President Nichols College WBJ Hall of Fame inductee Ingeborg E. Hegemann Senior consultant BSC Group, Inc. Small Business Leader of the Year Rodrigo DeOliveira Owner D'Errico's Market Large Business Leader of the Year Eric W. Dickson, MD President & CEO UMass Memorial Health Care Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year Worcester Together fund The United Way of Central Massachusetts and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation (Barbara Fields and Tim Garvin) Innovative Business Leader of the Year Dr. Luis Pedraja President Quinsigamond Community College Family Business Leader of the Year David White Chairman & treasurer R.H. White Construction Co. WBJ Hall of Fame inductee Chip Norton Managing director Franklin Realty Advisors LLC F O C U S B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R e difference would mean almost an extra $500,000, and the foundation could start a pandemic response fund. Fields was approved. Before going pub- lic, she reached out to the United Way and other partners. Garvin told her the United Way was working on a fund, too. At the United Way, Garvin reached out to his board with an idea for some- thing called the We Care Fund. It would be a play on the United Way's initial fund, called Supposed Nobody Cared. Garvin sent an email at 6:23 that same Sunday morning and soon aer went to grab his wallet to make the first dona- tion himself. By 7 o'clock, 10 members had already donated, he said. Within a few days, it became increas- ingly obvious to leaders of both GWCF and the United Way it would make the most sense to combine their efforts. at way, coordination of collecting dona- tions and doling out money would be simpler and quicker. By late March, the Worcester Together fund was on its way. "I talked to community foundations across the state and no one had a rela- tionship with the United Way like this," Fields said. "We're very fortunate." e fund's leaders count themselves as fortunate for having immediate and strong support from businesses, indi- viduals and philanthropic organizations. e Worcester-based George I. Alden Trust, for example, gave $1 million very early on. Many seemed more eager to give financially, Garvin said, because they weren't exactly able to lend a hand in person during a pandemic. In those first weeks, Fields and Garvin held daily calls with Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus to review applications. When considering whether to provide funds to an agency, a quick ability to get help to where it was needed was a top priority. "e question was, 'Who could really deliver in that first phase?'" Fields said. at first phase included the bulk of the fund's giving at $6.3 million, with dozens of recipients. Abby's House, which operates a homeless shelter, got funds to make sure it could stay staffed and operational. Community Healthlink got money for a specialized residence for coronavi- rus-positive patients who needed special attention. One early donation, Garvin said, was incredibly useful despite how mundane it may seem: mobile showers for the homeless. "e most unglamorous but most incredibly useful grant," Garvin said. A second phase totaled $2.3 mil- lion, meant to help organizations with less-immediate needs and more on their own survival. A third phase includes $1 million to help agencies reimagine their operations in 2021 and beyond, Fields said, including structural societal issues they're working toward improving. e YOU Inc. Family Resource Center, part of the Worcester nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation, received funds to cover a program delivering hot meals to the homes of those who were isolated or in quarantine. It also started a pro- gram with the Boys & Girls Club and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to train older children to babysit younger siblings not in school. e Family Resource Center had a close relationship with the United Way from when the two worked together on Hurricane Maria aid in 2017, said Emily Swalec, the site director for the Fami- ly Resource Center. e scale of need during the pandemic has been so great, she said, including for child care, food insecurity and rent aid. "e circumstances would be so much worse if these resources didn't exist," Swalec said. Another beneficiary, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, also had longstanding ties with both the United Way and GWCF. e Worcester-based Y received $243,000 to support emergency child care, summer programs and finan- cial resources for the Y's recovery plan. "Record unemployment, staggering food insecurity rates, and devastating gaps in education delivery have le local families in desperate need," said David Connell, the Y's CEO. With Worcester Public Schools stu- dents learning remotely this year, the Y turned its branches into learning homes. It created a home meal delivery program for children and provided full-day child care for parents still going into work. "I believe the strength of our response directly correlates to coming together for the greater social good," Connell said of the Y's efforts and the Worcester Together fund work more broadly. Roughly a year aer the fund's start, those who helped lead the efforts look back with gratitude and amazement at how quickly and effectively they were able to raise and dole out more than $10 million during the crisis. "No one could have predicted the pandemic," Fields said, "but no one could have predicted the response, either." Chief among the less-tangible bene- fits, Fields said, were the strengthened partnerships in many cases or, in some cases, new partnerships where they didn't exist before. Garvin evoked Charles Dickens to similarly laud the way area groups worked together at a critical time. "It's the worst of times, but the best of times for Worcester collaborations," he said. "I've never been prouder of this city and the way that people came together." Continued from Page 16 W

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