COVID-19

 

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

A collection of food from BentOn
A man wearing a mask outside of BentOn

COVID-19

After New York issued a stay at home order, JAA closed our facility on March 19. To stay connected to our members and community, we started several initiatives.
During the New York City Quarantine, JAA closed our offices and Community Hall on March 19, 2020. We continued to stay connected to our members and our community through several initiatives:

  • We called seniors who don’t have access to the internet to check on their health and safety.  We made sure they knew our priority was their well being.
  • Volunteers created more than 1,500 masks and donated them to Food Bank of New York, Bowery Mission, the Coalition of Homeless, and to seniors and people in need. 
  • We launched Project Bento on May 4. We have been delivering more than 180 bentos a week to seniors and people with disabilities in Manhattan (including Roosevelt Island), the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. Over 60 volunteers from the entire community connected to this project. 
  • We were able to provide support to people who were food insecure and in need. 
  • Free consultations on legal matters are available by telephone as well as telephone support for other topics of concern within the community 
  • ZOOM lectures on various topics including health and employment insurance and classes on Japanese culture, music and general well-being have been offered.