WILMINGTON — A local initiative to help provide meals for frontline healthcare workers while also supporting local businesses has just kicked off. While the initial fundraiser has already hit its goal, organizers hope to keep it going as long as the public’s desire to help stays strong.
The Meals for Heroes program is being run by Rob Kaiser, publisher of the Wilmington Business Journal, and Michele Brouse, creator of Caring to Deliver, an online campaign to help provide free support for Wilmington-area businesses that are remaining open, as well as giving patrons a handy list of available services.
Kaiser saw a news report of a similar program in the Washington, D.C. area and wanted to duplicate the effort in the Wilmington area.
“All businesses have been hit by this, but the restaurant and hospitality industry has been hit particularly — so being able to help both, it’s a pretty brilliant idea and we wanted to be able to do it here,” Kaiser said.
The Wilmington Business Journal already had some infrastructure in place — the publication runs an annual ‘Healthcare Heroes’ program that helps support and celebrates local healthcare workers in a variety of categories like nurses, volunteers, first responders, and more.
Kaiser teamed up with Brouse, whose group built and is still expanding an online directory of businesses and their delivery/curbside options, gift card offerings, and safety precautions being taken.
How it works
The Meals for Heroes has three moving parts: (1) nominations for healthcare workers, (2) donations to provide meals, and (3) an online database of available restaurants.
The goal, according to Kaiser, is to spend $300 a day on meals or gift cards at local restaurants and deliver them to healthcare workers throughout the month of August. The estimated $9,000 cost has already been matched and exceeded by GoFundMe donations (which had topped $15,500 by Wednesday afternoon). However, Kaiser said the campaign would continue as long as people wanted to keep donating.
- Anyone can nominate a healthcare worker (there’s no cost) by clicker here.
- Donations to the GoFundMe campaign can be made here.
- Restaurants can register for free with Caring to Deliver and join the list of eligible establishments here.
On Wednesday, Copper Penny delivered the first batch of food to the Cape Fear Clinic, according to Kaiser. He said over a two dozen nominations have been received for workers around Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
Brouse said the program is looking for more donations, and encouraged the public to take the time to submit someone they thought deserved recognition.
