We’re writing to acknowledge the Giving Tuesday award that the Co-op sent to the Germantown Mutual Aid Fund, a project of Germantown Residents for Economic Alternatives Together, Weavers Way and its members have helped us a lot. From a recent front-page article in the Shuttle, we received scores of donations. In October, we were thrilled to receive a check for over $2,000 from September’s Giving Tuesday.

A little about the fund: Within our first six months, we’ve pooled together $68,000, and response has been such that we are able to continue to increase our goal (our initial goal was $25,000).

The need is not going away anytime soon. We have, to date, sent over $44,000 in financial support to 54 Germantown households, mostly for rent and utility assistance. Checks are written to the vendors (utility, landlord etc.). We accept applications on a rolling basis via www.greatgtown.org and we review applications and make awards twice per month. In addition, we’ve directed all applicants to additional resources that may be helpful.

The Mutual Aid Fund was created out of the spirit of solidarity and support for our neighbors. It offers a model that differs from traditional charity; we share a bit more about that at https://chuffed.org/project/Germantown-mutual-aid-fund.

— Susan Christian, for the GMAF Committee