COVID-19 DeLand Restaurants Employees Fund

**Please hit submit payment only once**

HELP SAVE OUR DOWNTOWN RESTAURANTS

We all recognize that DeLand, Florida, is a special place to live, and we are blessed to be able to call it home. Not the least of DeLand’s many attractions is its wide variety of excellent locally owned restaurants. Unfortunately, many of these are now closed or on a reduced schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. None of us knows how long circumstances will prevent us from again sitting down with a cold beer or a glass of wine to enjoy an extraordinary meal served by one of the many wonderful waitstaff who have cheerfully and efficiently fed us over the years.

Until that time, it is important that we show our support by helping restaurant employees who are furloughed or on reduced hours pay their ongoing expenses. We can make a habit of ordering out and tipping generously. That will help some. But the need is much greater.

We hope that if you have been a beneficiary of DeLand’s unique culinary culture you will be inspired to contribute to a GoFundMe account to be used to assist these deserving members of our community weather this unexpected storm.

We look forward to your support. Distribution decisions will be made on the basis of the following criteria:

CRITERIA & LIMITATIONS
1. Restaurant must be in the DeLand Downtown Area.
2. Local Ownership of Restaurant.
3. Demonstrated Financial Need of Individual.
4. Individuals who qualify: Cooks, Dishwashers, Restaurant Servers, Other Restaurant Support Staff.
5. Individuals must have worked at the restaurant for a minimum of one month.
6. Applicant must fill the form out completely.
7. Grants will be in the amount of up to $500 per applicant to aid in essential financial needs (rent, food, insurance, etc.). Actual amount granted will be determined based on stated needs and demonstrated experience at restaurant.
8. Amount granted also depends on available funds at the time of the request.
9. Individuals who have benefitted from existing or prior fundraisers will have lower priority.

If contributed funds are in excess of the needs stated above, they will be used to subsidize distribution of locally grown produce to needy communities.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please give from your heart and we will continue to cook for you and serve your dining needs from ours.

NOTE ABOUT FUNDS
In order to comply with GoFundMe campaign standards, we must make the following clear:

·       Hari Pulapaka's relationship to the beneficiaries is professional in that we are all in the restaurant industry in Downtown DeLand.

·       In some instances, it may be that a beneficiary may be an employee of a business owned by Hari Pulapaka, but there will be no preferential treatment towards any such beneficiary.

·       Funds are being deposited into Hari Pulapaka’s personal checking account then being redistributed as directed by our team (Hari, Judy, and soon, others).

·       The funds are being redistributed to those in need either in the form of cash or check.

·       Distribution is provided based on each individual person’s needs as indicated on the application form.

If you or someone you know qualifies and could use the assistance, please urge them to fill out the following application:

APPLICATION FORM (copy URL below and paste in a web browser):
https://forms.gle/UicdpdfBELa2MpkN7

Hari & Jenneffer Pulapaka (Cress Restaurant), DeLand, FL

Judy Thompson, DeLand, FL