Mutual Aid in Morris County needs volunteers

In these days of COVID-19, everyone is looking for a way to help each other and adapt to a new and different future. As the discussions carry on about what that future will look like, we still need immediate help addressing the urgent needs of folks in our communities such as food.

Mutual Morris is a mutual aid group started in February to help bring groceries to people in Morris County who are unable to leave home to do their own shopping because of higher risk factors. We also provide other things like check-in calls, tutoring and homework help, and connections to other local resources. Mutual aid is the traditional way of community members helping each other in times of need: voluntary, non-hierarchical, and with kindness. Each contributing to the greater good by helping a neighbor in need.

Since February, we have raised over $4,000 toward paying for food when community members cannot and other essentials that our families have needed. Many of our members can pay for their own groceries, but we won't turn anyone away who can't. And because we started getting calls from people in other counties, we reached out to some friends who have started their own loosely connected groups in Union, Passaic, and Middlesex Counties as well as the city of Irvington. The need is growing and it will get a lot greater in the months to come.

We are grateful for all who can donate and support our work. But we are starting to have more families waiting for food than volunteers who can deliver to them. So we're asking all of you, our county-wide community, if you are healthy and low-risk, and have your own vehicle, to volunteer to do as little as one grocery trip for one family every week or two. You don't have to go to a large grocery store. We are getting everything we need while supporting smaller local supermarkets without the fear of being around too many people all at once.

How it works

• We text you about a delivery that is needed, according to your schedule and availability
• You go to the store and buy the items. We reimburse you or send you money in advance, as needed.
• You deliver the items to the front door of the recipient and step back at least 6 feet or to the street and call or text them to let them know it's there. No social contact except maybe a friendly wave and greeting.
• You watch to be sure they get their delivery, and then text us to let us know it's done.
• That's it. Easy.

If you would like to join this fun and very rewarding effort, please call Theresa at 973-876-6618 or email her at theresa@markila.com. This is the most urgent need, but there may be other ways that you can help.

If you would like to contribute financially, donations are accepted by Venmo to @theresa-markila or on https://www.gofundme.com/f/cov...

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