The Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation, along with their donors, have awarded more than $2.7 million in direct grants to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 relief. That total includes more than $1.1 million funded from the COVID-19 Response Initiative, a joint initiative of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Barancik Foundation to support immediate and long-term needs in the region arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

Grants awarded in the past two weeks through the initiative are funding services including virtual mental-health counseling for children and for veterans, childcare for first responders, and food and financial assistance for displaced hospitality workers, foster families, and others.

Basic needs

UnidosNow

$10,000 to provide culturally competent case management to Spanish-speaking individuals and families who need critical services and resources

Laurel Civic Association

$10,000 to aid displaced, low-income workers and their families through rental/mortgage assistance, utility assistance, and supplemental access to food

All Faiths Food Bank

$7,000 to distribute meals to furloughed restaurant workers

The TWIG Cares

$2,500 to provide “TwigBoxes” filled with personal-care items, gift cards, and other support for young adults who have aged out of foster care

Health Care and Mental Health

Florida Center for Early Childhood

$25,000 to provide much-needed mental health resources for vulnerable young children and their families not fully covered by Medicaid or other insurance providers

Tri-County Counseling and Life Skills Center

$15,000 to cover fees for mental-health and substance-abuse counseling for low-income clients in North Port

Tidewell Hospice

$10,000 for medical supplies and additional staffing to serve the surge of patients in the region

Family Network on Disabilities

$5,000 to provide relief for caregivers of children with disabilities through virtual respite care

Good Samaritan Pharmacy & Health Services

$4,000 to meet increased demand for prescription medications while adhering to CDC guidelines

Operation Warrior Resolution

$3,200 to provide telehealth counseling to Sarasota-area veterans and their families

Jobs and Financial Security

Women’s Resource Center

$5,000 to assist hospitality-industry workers who have lost jobs or wages

The Salvation Army of Sarasota

$20,000 to re-employ furloughed staff so the agency can meet increased demand for its services across Sarasota County

First Responders

SKY Family YMCA

$75,000 to continue offering childcare services and educational programs for children of essential employees, first responders, and healthcare providers

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County

$80,000 to provide childcare for essential healthcare and emergency response workers

Youth Services

Safe Children Coalition

$17,800 to help provide every foster family in the 12th Judicial Circuit with a $100 gift card to assist with unplanned needs