SW Iowa Times

The Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund has received $100,000 from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation to be used for emergency needs during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The fund, a partnership formed between the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and the Iowa West Foundation, will help the vulnerable population in the region during the pandemic, according to the Daily Nonpareil.

“These are unprecedented times that require collaboration and generosity to create solutions,” Lakin Foundation President Steve Wild said in a release. “The family believes very strongly in helping our local Southwest Iowa community, and we are pleased we can contribute to the effort.”

The donation from the Lakin Foundation will help emergency needs, but the fund itself supports all kinds of relief from infrastructure to individuals.

“The SWI COVID-19 Response Fund is here to aid both rural and urban systems and areas. Our over-arching goal is to see the community through the crisis, and we are grateful to all the partners who are coming along side us like the Lakin Foundation," Pete Tulipana, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, told the Daily Nonpareil.

Many families are also needing relief during these times, Pottawattamie County Community President and CEO Donna Dostal told the Daily Nonpareil.

“We are truly grateful to the entire Board of Directors of the Lakin Foundation for their generous support of the COVID-19 Response efforts,” Dostal told the Daily Nonpareil. "The Charles E. Lakin Foundation is preserving and expanding a legacy of community impact created by Charles and Florence Lakin.”