We asked our donor-advised fundholders why they chose to give to the COVID-19 Community Support Fund during this crisis. Here’s what Steve and Elaine Jacobs had to say:
What inspired you to give during this crisis? Elaine and I look around and see how fortunate we are. We are safe and secure in our home and have what we need to get through this. We realize there are so many people whose earnings don’t allow them to save much and live paycheck to paycheck. When an event like this hits – although never before one like this – they can’t pay the rent, take care of their healthcare costs, and possibly can’t afford to buy food. . .and that doesn’t even take into account those that didn’t have jobs when this started, or are experiencing homelessness.
What do you feel are the greatest needs in our community right now? Supporting the heroes on the front lines – those in the grocery stores, those selfless healthcare workers, the bus drivers, the police, fire, and EMTs.
What is your hope for Central New York as we navigate this crisis? Somehow figuring out how to balance suppressing the spread of the virus with the need to get businesses going again. There are no right answers – we must take steps and adjust as we go. As they say in the special forces, you must plan, but the plan is only good until you encounter the enemy – then you adjust.
While this crisis has been more than challenging, what do you think might take from it as we work through this and future crises together? Hopefully, we come to see that we’re not all that different, and that our yelling at one another because of our political differences is insignificant when something like this unites our humanity.
Steve and Elaine Jacobs are Community Foundation fundholders and Legacy Society members. Steve is a member of the Development Committee, which he previously chaired, and is a former member of the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. He is also the president of Bishops Brook, Inc.
