Relief Packages For Unemployed Workers In OKC

Local organizations are teaming up to help people affected by COVID-19. 

The Oklahoma Restaurant Association, Oklahoma Hotel and Lodging Association, Feed the Children, and Crossings Community Church are sending four hundred relief packages packed with food and other essentials for metro hospitality workers who have recently lost their jobs.

The packages will be sent out within the next week. 

“This is a big step in providing some temporary essential needs to employees who may not have it otherwise,” ORA and OHLA Chief Strategy Officer Patti Colley said. 

Their goal is to help those who are struggling to make ends meet after recent layoffs. 

Colley said hotel and restaurants are struggling to stay open which has caused them to make staffing cuts.

“Every day that the coronavirus stays with us is another day that they are losing money and that hospitality employees are out of jobs,” Colley said.

Officials said an estimated 155,000 hotel and restaurant workers are currently unemployed throughout Oklahoma City.  With uncertainty in future employment, these organizations say every bit helps.

 “To be able to serve families in need, that is the way we function throughout the year,” Feed the Children Director of Corporate Partnerships Kevin Richardson said. “Those kinds of people coming together to serve the community and make a difference.”

Each care package will contain a 25-pound box of non-perishable food and a 12-pound box of personal essentials including shampoo, toothpaste and toilet paper.   The packages will be distributed by volunteers at Crossings Community Church.

“I’m really excited for the volunteers that get to be a part of this,” Richardson said. “For many of them (this) will be their first time getting to experience this kind of event where you’re really providing tangible hope and resources for families that are in need.”

Donations will be distributed on April 8^th and hospitality workers are encouraged to register in advance through the care package portal.  

People can also donate items here.