National COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Effort

COVID-19 hit Black and brown communities disproportionately hard. Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) took swift and broad action to hit back.

In short order, HCZ conceived and implemented a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to emergency response and recovery. The organization focused on five crucial areas to help offset the pandemic’s impact on Central Harlem:

• Protecting the most vulnerable
• Bridging the digital divide
• Preventing learning loss
• Mitigating the mental health crisis
• Providing economic relief and recovery

However, in accordance with HCZ’s national vision, the organization’s efforts weren’t limited to Central Harlem. Joined by leading national and community-based institutions in six major American cities — and fueled by a catalytic investment from the Audacious Project — HCZ launched a National COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Effort impacting 250,000 individuals in Black and brown communities disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

Support from the Audacious Project

HCZ’s comprehensive and scaled response to the COVID-19 pandemic created a new approach to fighting poverty and racial inequities across the U.S.

Owing to the success of the response, Audacious Project selected HCZ as a 2020 project grantee and made a $26 million commitment toward its goal of raising $50 million for the National COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Effort.

“At a time when efficacy and fast action are critical, Harlem Children’s Zone’s comprehensive approach and deep community ties are paramount to building an equitable recovery and resilient future,” Anna Verghese, Executive Director of The Audacious Project at TED, said. “We are grateful to be able to support their work both in Harlem and as their model expands across the country.”

Housed at HCZ, William Julius Wilson Institute — a national resource for place-based solutions that open pathways to social and economic mobility — was the platform for this effort.

Partnering with nonprofits in areas of need

To advance its National COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Effort, HCZ joined forces with NAACP, StriveTogether, and PolicyLink. Their involvement amplified our impact through membership networks, advocacy, and mass communications.

Additionally, HCZ partnered with six highly respected local institutions that are located in areas with significant need, anchored in the communities they serve, and have the capacity to deliver on this effort.

The National COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Effort established a powerful, Black-led partnership. Together and in the years ahead, HCZ and its partners can pool and leverage more resources to drive health equity, justice, and social and economic mobility in Black and brown communities across America.
 

COVID-19 Relief and Recovery community partners