Greater PGH Restaurant Workers Emergency Fund
UPDATE 3/23/2020: We are temporarily pausing our application form as we work through the hundreds of applications that have already been submitted. Please check back for an update at a later time. Please be safe and feel free to refer to this list of other resources for financial aid: https://rocunited.org/stop-the-spread/coronavirus-support/. If you are in need of other assistance or need to contact us, please email [email redacted]
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Restaurants and their workers are a big, big part of Pittsburgh. We are not only the largest employment sector in the region, but we are also your neighbors, friends, moms, dads, sisters, and brothers. We are who you go to for support and comfort in times of need and in times of celebration. If you want a good sandwich we got you. Need a refreshing bottle of IC Light? Let one of us crack that one for you- served ice cold of course.
Restaurant workers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. Not only have so many of us been exposed to hundreds of people in the past few months of work, but now many of us are out of work and facing a loss of income due to restaurant closures. We have been at a high risk of being exposed to the virus and we are some of the least equipped to handle the fallout from it. Many of us already live paycheck to paycheck and are not provided with benefits such as health insurance. Some of us live day to day off tips earned during our shift. We just won the battle for paid sick days but as we can see it was a little too late.
As a result of this crisis we need to turn to each other for mutual aid and support with any resources we are able to share. We are the ones who have cooked for you, served you and cleaned up for you. Please consider giving back during this time of mass financial hardship.
Any donation big or small will go a long way to support restaurant workers in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
HOW IT WILL WORK:
We are currently raising $60,000 to provide payments of up to $150 per worker. This can go towards helping people pay their rent, pay their bills, purchase food and other essentials.
Funds will be dispersed on an as-need basis after workers fill out the form below to apply for funds. Once need is assessed we will deposit funds directly to each person's Venmo, CashApp or PayPal account.
We will be prioritizing folks who need funds to cover child-related expenses and medication or who may not be eligible or able to apply for unemployment/government assistance.
We are aware that emergency legislation and measures from the county and state are adding further assistance by halting any evictions or utilities shut offs in this time of crisis. We will be taking the final implementation of this into account before dispersing funds directly for utilities bills and rent.
Restaurant Workers: Please fill out this application form so that we can distribute these donations to you!