The WFC Employee Hardship Fund
“Westchester Family Care Grant Circle”
To Experience Hard Times is Human; To Give Back is Divine
WFC is always thinking of ways we can give back to our tireless, hardworking, and caring employees. The pandemic has brought their heroic efforts and devotion to our clients into an even sharper focus. When employees experience hardship, from time to time, we have provided financial support on an individual basis.
WFC would like to provide a more structured & consistent program. In that spirit and in keeping with our desire to play a leadership role in the industry, we are proud to launch an innovative Employee Hardship Fund called “Westchester Family Care Grant Circle,” designed to help workers who face hard times due to financial emergencies.
WFC’s Employee Hardship Fund (Westchester Family Care Grant Circle)
The Westchester Family Care Grant Circle offers help to workers who experience a disaster-related or personal financial hardship. If an emergency has created financial difficulties for our employees, they can request the money from the fund to get back on track. The fund provides a flexible, quick, cash grant in a moment of need and is an important pillar of our benefits we offer to help caregivers and employees who may lack financial security.
WFC will regularly contribute to the Westchester Family Care Grant Circle. WFC staff and clients can also donate to the fund. Employees who want to donate to the fund can do so through payroll deductions. When an emergency creates financial difficulties for our employees, they can apply for a cash grant to quickly help address the immediate need.
The Westchester Family Care Grant Circle is particularly targeted to a specific need with a rapid response. For instance,
- an employee facing eviction due to the economic consequences of COVID-19;
- a worker being unable to afford emergency car repairs for a vehicle needed to get to work;
- a caregiver whose child is home due to a COVID-related school closing needing help with extra childcare expenses so the caregiver can still work outside the home;
- a death in the family surfaced unexpected or unaffordable funeral and burial expenses.
The Pandemic and Employees’ Economic Instability
The financial instability that many employees live with has been made clear by the way that COVID-19 has torn through our community. We understand that COVID has created havoc and that many employees within our company family are living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s all too common to hear stories about people forgoing car or home repairs to pay rent or, worse, stave off eviction.
“Doing good in a time when our workforce is exposed and uncertain about the future is just the right thing to do. In the past, we’ve handled personal emergencies on a “one-off” basis. Now we have a program in place to help out. Also, the program is a way for clients, co-workers and other partners to give back.”
– Glenn Lane, Founder/CEO
Helping Each Other is Part of Who We Are
WFC’s Culture
Our cultural touchpoints at WFC are about looking out for each other, getting the job done as a team and, above all, caring for one another. Providing a financial safety net fits within the emotional support system that connects us together. The team members and/or clients who make their own contributions to the Westchester Family Care Grant Circle are building extensions of our support system.
In hearing feedback from employees at other companies using employee hardship programs, we can see how the effort to give back is much appreciated by those receiving financial relief and enhances the work environment. WFC is using the Grant Circle to administer and execute the Westchester Family Care Grant Circle, and here are a few testimonials from recipients at other companies also using an Employee Hardship Fund:
“I’m so thankful to be part of a company that stands beside you during such hard times.”
“I have never worked in a place where an employer has cared about my wellbeing, and I was touched when they offered the Grant Circle as a way to support us.”
– Recipients of Grant Circle funds for emergencies
We view our progressive approach to maintaining the financial well-being of our employees – our benefits, our rewards, our incentives, our new pay programs – as being part of the many ties that bind caregivers and staff together as the Westchester Family Care family.
Get Involved
Should you like to learn more or donate to the Westchester Family Care Grant Circle, please visit – https://westfamilycare.grantcircles.org.
Westchester Family Care Inc. assists people of all ages, by customizing home care plans to maintain healthy quality of life and safety at home.
Contact WFC for an immediate family need or when planning for future needs: info@westfamilycare.com, 914-764-7500, www.westchesterfamilycare.com.
Westchester Family Care Provides Peace of Mind and Confidence that the Elderly Are Safe and Living with Dignity in Their Own Home.
*The Grant Circle is a Sponsored Program of The Workers Lab, a Section 501(c)(3) organization. It was created, and is operated by, Canary, a mission-driven enterprise whose mission is to ensure that in times of financial need, individuals can access emergency funding with dignity.