The Peru Gazette

Stewart’s Press Release 

July 15, 2020—With the current circumstances, many nonprofits are struggling due to COVID-19. Stewart’s recognized there was an urgent need; they acted quickly and provided over $1 million in monetary and product relief to hundreds of impacted organizations. At this time, Stewart’s is taking a pause on COVID-19 relief applications, and will evaluate the need moving forward.

With an increased demand on services, many nonprofits experienced strains on budget, staffing and resources. Many of these organizations were forced to cancel fundraising events; while facing an increase in demand for items and services. The Stewart’s Shops COVID-19 relief grants helped hundreds of organizations with sustainability.

• Bread, milk and egg gift certificates were distributed to school districts to keep backpack programs going to feed families in need.
• Aid was given to shelters to help the homeless.
• Organizations like the United Way and Home Independent Care were able to purchase necessary PPE equipment.
• The Children’s Museum of Saratoga provided virtual educational programs and enhanced their hands-on exhibits to prepare for reopening.
• C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios was able to purchase and provide art supplies to community members.

These are just a few of the many examples of how Stewart’s was able to help these organizations get through these uncertain times while staying true to their mission.

According to Amy Potter, Stewart’s Corporate Contributions Director, “With so much need, we felt compelled to help where we could above and beyond our annual giving. With a long-standing history of helping nonprofits, we knew we could offer these organizations guidance, product donations and monetary assistance to get them through these unprecedented and uncertain times.”

Anthony DeLuca, Executive Director of the Little Falls YMCA said, “Thank you for your generous and timely support to our agency. This grant will provide much needed food and supplies to families in our service area experiencing insecurity through our Food Pantry program initiatives. During this crisis we have experienced a marked increase in demand for services and your support will enable us to better meet these needs.”

Stewart’s supports the following nonprofits: Arts, Education, Recreation, Health, Social Services, and Civic groups. The company is committed to giving back to the communities in which they are located, donating approximately $2.5 million a year to local nonprofits with The Dake Family Foundations contributing an additional $5 million. Despite the pause on COVID relief applications, Stewart’s is reviewing applications that go beyond COVID relief at this time.