Donate Now for Chelsea

The One Chelsea Fund was established in early April of 2020 by Chelsea community leaders, together with City Manager Tom Ambrosino, in partnership with The United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. In the first five months, it provided emergency financial assistance to 4,600 Chelsea families who were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures ended and many residents still without the ability to work in the most impacted employment sectors, the city faces the most serious housing crisis it has seen in decades. The One Chelsea Fund is providing emergency housing assistance to people at risk of homelessnessand displacement from Chelsea.

How Can I Donate?

The fastest way to put your donation to use is to click on the yellow GIVE TODAY button or click here. Your donation is tax-deductible, and no fees will be charged beyond what your credit card company requires.

Alternatively, you can send a check to: United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Inc., P.O. Box 412866, Boston, MA. 02241-2866. Please make checks out to “United Way of Massachusetts Bay” and include “One Chelsea Fund” in the memo of your check.

The Need in Chelsea

Chelsea is home to the Boston region’s residents most impacted by the pandemic: newly-arrived immigrants, undocumented families, and those working in impacted industries like hospitality, restaurants, at the airport, transportation, and families with children. As a frontline community, Chelsea residents already experienced the greater public health challenges associated with environmental contamination. Therefore, the economic, social, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were immediate and dire for the many Chelsea individuals and families who live one paycheck away from serious financial hardship. Having lost income critical to paying for rent and food, many residents now face eviction and displacement from the community.

Our community is in crisis.

The Chelsea community has come together swiftly and decisively to address needs as they arise. Food is being distributed at multiple locations across the City. The Chelsea Public Schools are distributing ChromeBooks for remote learning. Neighborhood Captains are checking in with neighbors, matching them with resources, and providing multilingual educational materials to help our community navigate this challenging time.

Yet, the needs in our community far outweigh these efforts. Individuals and families need immediate financial support.

The One Chelsea Fund

The One Chelsea Fund is guided by the City and community leaders from La Colaborativa, GreenRoots, The Neighborhood Developers, and CAPIC who are responding to emergency housing needs of Chelsea residents. These organizations have established eviction prevention resources and are leveraging all available resources to help Chelsea families stay in their homes. But more is needed – many families are ineligible for state-funded assistance and find themselves with no where to go. These organizations are using One Chelsea Fund to quickly address emergency housing needs, to help families avoid eviction or displacement.

What Do I Do if I Need Assistance?

The first round of One Chelsea Fund activities helped 4,600 Chelsea households through La Colaborativa, The Neighborhood Developers, and GreenRoots. In the second round, emergency housing assistance requests from these agencies will be provided through CAPIC. If you need immediate assistance, contact one of the organizations directly.

• La Colaborativa
• Green Roots
• The Neighborhood Developers
• CAPIC

Chelsea eats

Chelsea Eats is a community-wide effort to create a sustainable model of food relief for the residents of this city. Led by the City of Chelsea, collaborating with philanthropy and community partners, Chelsea Eats is using the following strategies to achieve stability:

• Increase enrollment in federally-funded programs (SNAP, WIC, etc.) to as close 100% participation as possible.
• Grow the USDA Emergency School Meals program serving Chelsea kids by improving menu offerings & increasing distribution points across the city.
• Provide locally-prepared meals for vulnerable residents under quarantine or recovering from Covid at home.
• Distribute prepaid debit cards to support the most vulnerable Chelsea residents who are ineligible for federal relief programs like SNAP & UI.

Learn more about the project here and donate to help our neighbors in Chelsea struggling with food insecurity here.