The Texas Women's Foundation is asking the community to donate to its Resilience Fund this holiday season, in an effort to help lower-income women and their families.
The fund was created in April to provide both short and long-term financial support, especially for women of color, who have been severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
The organization said these women play a critical role in childcare and other essential services within the community.
"These are the women who provide child care, housekeeping, and home health services, and who cannot go to work either because their place of work is closed or their own children must be cared for at home due to school closures," the group said.
The foundation also said women who work in the customer service industry have been impacted, as their income depends significantly on tips.
"With jobs lost overnight for low-wage workers – many of whom are Black and Latina women and families – women are unable to pay rent and face eviction at a staggering rate," the foundation said.
Earlier this week, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms, libraries, and other businesses were ordered to scale back to 50% capacity.
The order went into effect after the region reported its seventh straight day with COVID-19 patients making up at least 15% of the hospitals' total capacity.
Anyone interested in donating to the Resilience Fund can do so online. So far, the foundation has raised and been granted $1.4 million.
"We know low-income women and their families have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s impact, and they continue to face relentless and ongoing challenges in the weeks and months ahead," said Roslyn Dawson Thompson, president, and CEO of Texas Women’s Foundation.
