Greetings from your friends at the Pasadena Educational Foundation.
As you are certainly aware, beginning today, Pasadena Unified schools have been closed for instruction, and students are at home, continuing their learning remotely. Our PUSD colleagues are hard at work implementing this transition from in-person to remote instruction.
We at PEF are working remotely too, and our efforts to support the public school students in our community haven’t slowed down; in fact, our work and your support are more urgent and important than ever. I wanted to write you today to discuss steps we at PEF are taking to support our community in this time of need and uncertainty.
In this moment, our primary mission is to connect community resources with those in need. We are working in close collaboration with our PUSD colleagues to identify challenges PUSD students and families are facing, and to define strategies to help. There is still much that is unknown, but areas of need are coming into focus. When we have a clearer picture of specific ways you can help, we will share them with you.
Donate: In this moment, our primary mission is to support the PUSD school community in every way possible. Please consider making a donation to our Response Fund so that we may direct to areas of greatest need. I encourage you to donate online, to avoid unnecessary delays in us being able to process and use the donation. To make an online donation, please click here.
Regarding the donation of food, clothing, and other essentials, we will share more information as those procedures are defined.
Volunteer: Beginning tomorrow, breakfast and lunch will be distributed to PUSD students who are eligible for free and reduced-cost lunches. Those meals will be distributed in drive-through lines at seven PUSD campuses. We are helping the district to find volunteers to pass out meals to families starting tomorrow. If you can volunteer, or know someone who is, please click here.
Summer Enrichment Program: To parents who have enrolled their children in our Summer Enrichment Program: We have every intention of launching the program on its scheduled start date, if circumstances permit. We will send updates on this and other matters over the coming days/weeks.
We live in a special community, and I know a great many of us are wanting to help those who will be profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its myriad unforeseen consequences. PEF is working hard to help in every way we can.
Please stay tuned for further information.
And please take care of yourself and your friends and family.
Patrick Conyers
Executive Director
Pasadena Educational Foundation
