November 6, 2020
To date, the AK Can Do Neighbor to Neighbor fund has provided rent, mortgage, utility and/or child care assistance to 683 households with 2,197 individuals.
September 25, 2020
To date, the AK Can Do Neighbor to Neighbor fund has provided rent, mortgage, utility and/or child care assistance to over 550 families.
August 21, 2020
To date, nearly $1.5 million has been put to work helping Alaska families keep a roof overhead and put food on the table and sustain the support nonprofits are providing to their communities.
June 25, 2020
Powered by your generosity, the AK Can Do fund is helping many hardworking people impacted by the coronavirus shutdown, and it’s not over yet despite the reopening. Read some of their stories in our latest Notebook post.
June 24, 2020
A second round of grants totaling nearly half a million dollars has been awarded to 62 non-profits helping Alaskans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The AK CAN DO fund raising effort has received financial commitments totaling over 2.4 million dollars from charitable foundations, dozens of major corporations and service groups along with nearly a thousand individuals. To date, nearly one and a half million dollars has been deployed.
June 15, 2020
To date $600,000 has been deployed to help keep Alaskans safe and housed. Those facing financial hardship from COVID-19 reflect a wide variety of job sectors.
From March 1 to May 31, 110,000+ Alaskans claimed unemployment benefits, more than 20% of the workforce.
Almost 60% of U.S. adults say they live paycheck to paycheck. AK CAN DO is a vital resource for families struggling to stay housed.
May 31, 2020
For a snapshot of who and how your AK CAN DO support is helping in Anchorage, take a moment and read the latest blog post by our president, Michele Brown.
May 27, 2020
To date, 416 households with 1,305 individuals have received assistance totaling $359,668.
May 18, 2020
With existing partnerships in each of the 12 regions of the state, we can deploy critical rent assistance statewide quickly, efficiently, and flexibly to meet the needs.
There are hundreds of families in Anchorage that need help right now to keep their housing, and we are beginning to see the many long-term needs within our communities across the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news? We have another opportunity for you to double your donation and impact when you give to the AK Can Do fund thanks to Alaska Airlines Foundation offering the fund’s second 1:1 matching program.
May 15, 2020
As neighbors reach out to neighbors, both near and far, with gestures of support both large and small, we experience the unbridled power of caring. We’re happy to report the generous $100,000 dollar for dollar match from ConocoPhillips Alaska to AK CAN DO has been met.
On behalf of the many families who can breathe a little easier tonight, knowing their roof overhead is secure, we offer our thanks to the many donors who were inspired to step up and double their impact.
May 5, 2020
New donors to AK CAN DO can double their impact now, thanks to the $100,000 matching grant from ConocoPhillips Alaska. In the words of one donor, “I should have done it sooner, but it took a pandemic to make me stop and realize how fortunate I am on so many levels and how I really want to help those struggling” – Christine M.
April 23, 2020 AK CAN DO fund surpasses $1 million in support of COVID -19 recovery
Individual Alaskans, corporations and other organizations have stepped up to support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, donating more than $1.4 million so far. Contributions to the AK Can Do fund go directly to those most in need during the pandemic. The money provides fast relief and targets gaps not immediately addressed by government aid or other help.
Topping a growing list of supporters is ConocoPhillips Alaska, which today announced a $100,000 donation to the AK Can Do Fund and an additional $100,000 challenge grant to encourage others to give. (Read the press release.)
To date almost $500,000 of support has been deployed. Over 250 Alaska families — 800 individuals — received help to remain stably housed despite losing a job as businesses closed. Twenty-five frontline nonprofit organizations received more than $215,000 in direct funding this week to support the critical needs in Alaska communities. With reports of domestic violence rising in some areas, shelters around the state are receiving grants for alternative spaces so they can practice social distancing. Multiple childcare agencies are receiving support to help centers reopen safely in a world turned upside down by coronavirus. Behavioral health organizations are finding new ways to connect with vulnerable individuals.
April 8, 2020 – Anchorage Cares now AK CAN DO
As this pandemic continues to unfold, it is clear that the need is bigger than our local community and requires the energy and hard work of more organizations.
The neighbor-to-neighbor movement you powered through Anchorage Cares is being transformed into AK CAN DO, a new partnership with the Alaska Community Foundation with the support of Rasmuson Foundation to reach Alaskans where ever they need help, by the most effective means possible. (Read the press release.)
AK CAN DO will funnel swift help to families throughout the state in two ways; 1) supporting those who have lost jobs and are scrambling to cover groceries, rent, and other bills and 2) supporting the front line nonprofit organizations that need to stay open during this time of need. Learn more.
April 3, 2020
Today, an additional $40,000 has been put to work in the community through Lutheran Social Services supporting neighbors who have lost jobs and are scrambling to cover groceries, rent, and other bills.
April 2, 2020
COVID-19 has made a clean sweep of some Anchorage families’ livelihoods. That’s where your donations to ANCHORAGE CARES have done what soap and sanitizer cannot.
One couple with a newborn baby took a triple shot: The husband is a tattoo artist and bartender, his wife a surgery nurse. He was shut down; she was laid off as the medical community clears the decks for a possible pandemic surge, so she can’t go back to work even if she cut her maternity leave. A single mom with three kids worked three jobs waiting tables and tending bar when the order came to hunker down and and left her with three pink slips instead of paychecks. Her grandmother has moved in to care for the kids so she can look for work. Another woman, a long-time retail employee, had her hours cut to 6, nowhere near enough to live on. She loves her job and doesn’t want to quit to draw unemployment. So she’s still working the 6 while she looks for part-time work at grocery stores.
These are our neighbors. These are some of the 152 people that Lutheran Social Services has given housing and utility assistance with money from ANCHORAGE CARES. Your donations have kept families housed and healthy and given them time. You’ve made it possible, as one woman said, “to just feel like you’re not drowning.”
April 1, 2020
On behalf of the many folks in our community who will be helped by your generous caring, thank you Wells Fargo for your gift of $25,000, Key Bank Foundation for your gift of $7500 and to all who have given to help Anchorage pull together through this challenging medical, social and financial moment. We unite as a community to care for each other and show that ANCHORAGE CARES.
March 31, 2020
If solidarity could kill a virus, COVID-19 would be fading fast.
We may be in a time of social isolation, but it is acts of social solidarity that are our deepest social connections right now. Social solidarity goes beyond feelings like kindness, compassion, and empathy. It’s about embracing the common good: seeing the importance of each individual while reorganizing the deep webs of mutual support and responsibility…. read the complete blog post by Michele Brown, our President and CEO.
March 27, 2020
Generous donations to the ANCHORAGE CARES fund have reached $110,000. Additional relief support continues to go out into the community through our partners Lutheran Social Services, Food Bank of Alaska and Children’s Lunchbox to help people retain housing and meet basic needs.
As Alaska 2-1-1 call volume, demand and hours of operations increase, United Way staff and medical volunteers are being redeployed to help in the 2-1-1 call center. Our team is fielding close to 500 calls each day.
March 25, 2020
The ANCHORAGE CARES fund exceeded $83,000 today thanks to donations from over 150 individuals and businesses.
Read the press release
March 24, 2020
Almost all of the funds collected to date have already been disbursed to help our neighbors.
March 23, 2020
Rasmuson Foundation has alerted us that they will provide a 1:1 match for the next $25,000 donations into the ANCHORAGE CARES fund, further inspiring Alaskans to donate as they can and maximizing the support to those in need. “We have never experienced anything like this in our lifetimes. Like many of our colleagues, we are gathering as much information as we can and figuring out how we can best help those who need it,” said Diane Kaplan, Rasmuson Foundation president and CEO. “We are guided by the words of our founder Elmer Rasmuson, ‘helping others is an Alaskan tradition.’ “
March 22, 2020
Caring Anchorage residents donate $35,000 to ANCHORAGE CARES, United Way’s COVID-19 Response Fund, in first four days.
$30,000 is swiftly deployed to Lutheran Social Services to help those in need of critical assistance to stay housed and keep food on the table.
March 19, 2020
United Way of Anchorage launches the ANCHORAGE CARES: COVID-19 Response Fund – a swift, easy way to help our neighbors hit hardest by the closures and changes stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The fund will help provide a flexible source of emergency assistance to help families facing income loss due to the COVID-19 crisis. 100% of donations will go to meet Anchorage-area needs. You can donate online or text ANCcares to 41444.
Read the press release.
March 18, 2020
Closures and changes in Municipality of Anchorage services and businesses – in additional to information related to COVID-19 – can now be accessed by calling 2-1-1 or by calling 1-800-478-2221 in areas without access to 2-1-1.
Alaska 2-1-1 extends call center hours in response to increasing number of public inquiries. Alaskans can reach a 2-1-1 resource specialist from 7am – 8pm, 7 days a week. Call specialists connect callers who have lost income and other services due to the coronavirus response to agencies that can help.
March 16, 2020
Temporary changes to how we work.
The health and well-being of our staff, those we work with and the greater community is paramount. Following COVID-19 epidemic, state and local guidelines, we have made temporary changes in how we work. Our staff will be working remotely, practicing social distancing and will continue to be available during regular business hours (8:30am – 5pm). All upcoming March and April events — including the Tocqueville Society Award Reception and the Drive Change Sweepstakes — have been postponed at this time.
March 5, 2020
Alaska 2-1-1 is tasked by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, which is leading Alaska’s preparation for and response to the coronavirus pandemic, to field the many calls about COVID-19 coming from concerned citizens. The state will provide trained experts at the 2-1-1 call center to handle the calls that need specialized expertise. 2-1-1 staff will handle general calls or “triage” calls to connect with the best expertise and resources.
Alaska 2-1-1 has been connecting Alaskans in need to resources that will help since 2007. Utilizing the most comprehensive statewide database of community resources, government agencies and nonprofits, Alaska 2-1-1 community information specialists have handled over a quarter of a million calls. Calls are free and confidential.
