When assisted living facilities, memory care homes and hospitals began limiting visits and shutting their doors to the public amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the creative minds at the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance knew there was a need to fill.

Not only would friends and family no longer be able to visit, but SAACA could no longer supply its programming. The nonprofit provides regular art therapy, and the Music and Memory program puts mp3 technology in the hands of retirees who could use a blast from the past.

Now, that support comes in the form of care packages compiled with help (and donations) from the creative community.

SAACA Executive Director Kate Marquez said the new program is the result of brainstorming with her staff.

“Most of us have the capacity to go outside into our backyards or front yards, take a walk and enjoy our surroundings and get a little bit of respite, but that’s genuinely not the case for so many people here in Southern Arizona, and they happen to be the most at-risk,” Marquez said.

Tucson’s downtown restaurant community is teaming up to feed unemployed service industry workers, along with those in need, six-nights-a-week during the pandemic.

Feeding Those Who Feed Us is a non-profit program offering free meals, pre-packaged for pick up for service industry workers - and the community at large - currently struggling to make ends meet. Restaurants like La Cocina, Geronimos Revenge & Forbes Meat Company, Pop’s Hot Chicken, and 4th Avenue Deli are all onboard making sure the downtown community is fed.

“We’re trying to make a lot of comfort food and meals that are easy to eat and could last a day or two in the refrigerator,” said La Cocina Owner Jo Schneider. “We’re serving decent-sized meals”.

Schneider started the program after receiving donations from the community once Mayor Regina Romero’s shutdown order went into effect on March 17. Her two sons, Ben and Eli, also shuttered their popular restaurants - TallBoys and Bentley’s Tea House - instead of offering to-go service (TallBoys has since reopened for to-go service). The Schneider family didn’t want to compete against other restaurants pivoting to carryout/delivery service. But with all the newfound downtime came time to think of how to put those recently received donations to good use.

PHOENIX – As Miss Shoshone-Bannock, Stormie Perdash has represented her people all across the United States. Now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, she’s representing them in a different way.

Growing up on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, Perdash remembers just how badly she wanted the Miss Shoshone-Bannock title – or Miss Sho-Ban for short.

“She was like the coolest thing ever,” Perdash said.

She spent her preteen years on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana and lived in Los Angeles after graduating from high school, and figured her pageant dream was over. But last summer, she returned to Fort Hall for a visit and decided to enter the pageant for 18 to 25 year olds – which she won.

“My first six months were amazing. I went and represented in Hawaii, South Dakota, Los Angeles,” she said in an interview. “Oh, Wisconsin! Also, our local community events – I’ve been here for those as well.

“And then COVID happened.”

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona's drive-thru food bank reopened today at its new location at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium to help serve a larger portion of the community faster and more efficiently.

"Because unemployment is so high, job loss is so high and people are being furloughed, people are strapped," said Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona CEO Michael McDonald. "It's been a long haul and so many people need food." 

Troops from the National Guard quickly place boxes of produce, milk, bread, and other essential goods into people's vehicles while Poison's 80s anthem, "Nothin' But a Good Time", blasts from a Bluetooth speaker. The atmosphere at the new location felt more like a summer camp, warmer in spirit than one would expect considering the circumstances.

"It's larger, it's faster, we got a sufficient food supply, we got the National Guard, we got librarians from Pima County and lots of other volunteers and staff. We're getting through the line quickly," McDonald said. "It was a long line almost to the exit off the freeway at Kino earlier though."

Carrying signs and plastic mallets, the hardworking educators of Amphitheater Public Schools recently showed how much they value their graduating seniors by placing congratulatory signs in their front yards.

Emblazoned with the mascot of each school, the signs remind the students that they are the “Pride of Amphi.”

The signs were the result of a brainstorming session between Amphi Superintendent Todd Jaeger and Director of 21st Century Education Tassi Call. The latter was inspired after overhearing her daughter, a junior at Canyon del Oro High School, on the phone with some of her senior friends lamenting over lost traditions like prom and Project Graduation.

Call knew the district had to do something.

“The Amphitheater school district loves and cares about all of our students,” she said. “Especially our seniors in the class of 2020.”

With a concept in mind, Amphi turned to its staff to make it all a reality—and they were more than ready to spread some love.

Innovation Academy Principal Michael McConnell is used to seeing hundreds of excited children in the halls of his Oro Valley school—and the empty campus is an unwelcome sight.

Considering the anxiety kids are experiencing while they sit at home for the remainder of the school year, McConnell gave himself a task: Make sure students start their day with a friendly face.

So he turned to Facebook.

Every morning, McConnell dons an alter ego for a few minutes and delivers an episode of his new video series, the title of which changes with the character he plays.

The show began with Prince I. Pal, who delivered Mr. Rogers-like messages, read books and discussed different topics. After a two-week run, the character was “canceled” April 3—much to the disappointment of Innovation Academy families.

One parent said Prince I. Pal was their family’s “favorite lunchtime channel.”

“We love staying connected to you and the school while we are home,” the parent wrote.

While the cancellation was intended as a joke, McConnell said he was thrilled to know families were sitting down together to watch his videos.

“It makes me feel good to know they’re seeing my message and feeling my love for them each day,” he said. “When I see that my efforts were being appreciated and valued and used, it made me feel good. The time I’m putting in every day is worth it.”

Just a few days after canceling Prince I. Pal, McConnell returned with his newest character: Principal Science. The new program includes a science vocabulary word of the day, this day in science, a “Did you know?” segment and the explanation of a different scientific principle.

While McConnell has spent his mornings entertaining and explaining new topics to his students and their parents, he said his staff has worked to provide as positive an educational experience as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of public schools.

This isn’t homeschooling, he said. It’s crisis schooling.

“But if you want something done, throw it at teachers and they’ll figure it out,” McConnell said. “They’ll make it happen. In this case, it’s one of those times where the direction from the state was minimal, the direction from the district at the very beginning was minimal. Teachers just came together and said, ‘Here’s the problem, and here’s how we’re going to do it. We’re going to figure it out, we’re going to make it happen.’”

While teachers are working over Zoom calls and online worksheets to keep their students on-track, parents are more involved than ever in the education process as living rooms transform into classrooms.

After several weeks of adapted education, McConnell had the following 10 tips for parents and their young learners.

1. Kids need a designated and comfortable space for learning
2. Take frequent “brain breaks.” Get up and move
3. Find a schedule that works. Flexibility is key as some families have multiple students and parents working from home and sharing technology devices
4. Turn off the devices sometimes. Read a book, play a board game, go for a bike ride or walk
5. Build of your child’s interests and passions
6. Integrate hands-on experiences like cooking, building, dancing, and music
7. Free online resources are popping up every minute. Don’t try them all, but find a few you like
8. If you can’t do all the assignments, do what you can and be OK with that
9. Take it slow. When you think you are going slow, go slower
10. Don’t panic. We are in this together and we are going to be just fine. Kids are resilient.

Four nonprofits in Tucson working to provide aid to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic received a leg-up today after Tucson Federal Credit Union made thousands of dollars in donations to their efforts.

“The impact of COVID-19 will have long-term physical, mental and emotional effects on many members of our community,” said Tucson Federal Credit Union President and CEO Susan Stansberry. “Our duty as a partner to many non-profits is to offer assistance now to their important causes to continue helping those with more needs in our beloved community.”

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, which provides emergency food and supplies to those in need, received $20,000. The food bank provides aid and resources to five different counties in Southern Arizona: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, and Santa Cruz, totaling 23,000 square miles and over 1.2 million people.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in Southern Arizona, the food bank is now producing approximately 8,000 meals a week.

Support the food bank by donating online at communityfoodbank.org.

The credit union also gave $15,000 to Old Pueblo Community Services, which works to provide housing for those leaving the prison system. The funding will go to helping staff assist those leaving incarceration homeless.

Go online to helptucson.org for more information and to donate.

Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse also received a $15,000 donation. As previously reported by Tucson Local Media, Emerge! operates an emergency shelter for survivors, a 24/7 bilingual crisis helpline, prevention and intervention services, support groups and several education-based programs aimed at ending domestic abuse. They are the largest organization in Southern Arizona dedicated to helping domestic abuse survivors, and all of their services are still available during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the statewide stay-home order puts individuals facing domestic violence at greater risk.

“Due to COVID-19, domestic abuse survivors are forced to isolate in the very spaces that may threaten their lives—not because of illness, but because of abuse,” said Emerge! Marketing and Communications Coordinator Mariana Calvo. “As an essential crisis service provider, we remain operational for the survivors needing support in our community. The cost of offering these services has increased substantially as we work to overcome the many challenges associated with operating an essential service during a pandemic, which means community donations are more important than ever.”

If you’re interested in supporting Emerge at this time, please visit emergecenter.org/donate.

The Children’s Clinics’ Comprehensive Services for Children and Teens also received $15,000. The organization supplies a medical campus that provides families with a one-stop location for rehabilitative, medical, dental, behavioral health, and primary care services.

For more information, or to support the Children’s Clinic, go online to childrensclinic.org.

Nonprofits doing charitable work in Pima and Santa Cruz counties can now apply for grant funding from The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s COVID-19 relief funds, which launched last month.

The foundation unveiled the Community Support and Nonprofit Event Relief funds in an effort to shore up the finances of those hit hardest during the pandemic.

The community support fund provides grants ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 to nonprofits “serving Arizona’s most vulnerable,” and focuses on those providing basic human needs and access to healthcare.

The nonprofit event relief fund offers grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 to organizations that canceled fundraising efforts.

Major contributors to the funds include Tucson Electric Power, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation, South32, The Stocker Foundation, Thomas R. Brown Foundations, Vitalyst Health Foundation, and foundation donors.

“These uncertain times require a commitment to working together across sectors to address this crisis today and into the future,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Slint Marble, in a statement. “We offer our deep thanks and gratitude to the generous community donors, local foundations and corporations, and community partners who have truly stepped up to support our nonprofit community in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties."

Looking to apply for a grant? Go online to cfsaz.org or call (520) 770-0800.

While grocery store shelves lay bare of staples such as beans and pasta after herd mentality drove some Tucsonans to buy as many goods and supplies as possible, there are those in the community unable to make the trip.

To provide assistance to those in need of food during these unprecedented times, Interfaith Community Services is accepting donations at its northside location (2820 W. Ina Road). Donations will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, Monday through Friday.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, ICS said it is turning all of its focus to providing essential services like its food bank, mobile meal delivery, and modified transportation services.

“These services are vital to individuals and families that are struggling with the economic stress felt by many hourly wage earners that are finding themselves without work or with shortened hours,” the company stated in a release.

While the nonprofit works to provide food and services to those in need, the organization is postponing mobile food pantry distributions scheduled for Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21.

ICS is also looking for healthy volunteers to assist in its operations, as many current volunteers are in high-risk demographics.

To volunteer, call the ICS Volunteer Services Manager at (520) 526-9308.