Community Corner
Local Nonprofit Helps Keep People Connected During Pandemic
Local nonprofit responds to pandemic, changes operations to connect people with disabilities to online events
CLEARWATER, FL — A local nonprofit is temporarily changing the way it does business in an effort to help individuals with special needs stay connected while staying safely at home.
Help Us Gather, or HUG, is a Clearwater-based nonprofit with a mission to connect people with disabilities to social events and activities. Normally, when users visit www.helpusgather.org, they have access to three calendars full of community events, specifically adapted for children, teens and adults with special needs. HUG works with 80+ local organizations to advertise the events for free, with the goal of helping people with disabilities get out into the community and make important social connections.
When these groups canceled all activities in response to COVID-19, the result was immediate and disheartening.
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“All of a sudden, our online event calendars were completely empty,” said Robin Lally, Founder of Help Us Gather. “We could feel how discouraging this was for the thousands of people in Tampa Bay who use our website, and we knew we had to take action.”
In response, the HUG team is temporarily converting its online calendars to advertise only virtual events. The HUG staff is working closely with local organizations to help get the word out about events like virtual workouts, Zoom dance classes, game nights and much more – all aimed at helping people with special needs stay safe, active and socially connected from home.
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According to the CDC, 1 in 4 U.S. adults live with a disability. However, 76% of people with disabilities feel alone and isolated. This issue is compounded by the current safer-at-home order in place in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. This is why the HUG team is making it a priority to fill the website’s online calendars with virtual events.
“In this time of unpredictability and concern, families and individuals with special needs should not have to feel isolated,” said Lally. “We want to make sure the 2000+ people who use our website each month know we are still here and we are still working to keep them socially connected.”
