Daniel Pitino Shelter asking for community donations

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Published: Jun. 28, 2022 at 5:47 PM CDT

OWENSBORO, Ky. (WFIE) - Many businesses are working to catch up after losing money because of the pandemic.

Directors at the Daniel Pitino Shelter in Owensboro are asking for the community’s support with their funding.

The shelter is open 365 days a year, offering meals and programs to help the homeless get back on their feet.

When their funds get depleted like they have after the pandemic, it’s hard for the shelter to provide the best care they can for those in need.

Director Harry Pedigo is new to his role as director at the Daniel Pitino shelter, and he’s got some work to do to make up for lost funds because of the pandemic.

“COVID kind of got us on the back end,” said Pedigo. “For two years we primarily focused on staying safe and keeping our clients safe so networking, fundraising and marketing were just non-existent.”

Their funds help with giving people safe places to stay, and keeping them fed. They need the community’s help to keep going.

“We’re very strong in funding as far as our programs go, but when it comes to operating budget we’re not really as strong, and when I look into that the reason is COVID,” Pedigo said.

Pedigo says they’re not in crisis mode yet, but they need more funding soon.

“What we’re trying to do is stay ahead of it because we do notice COVID is finally catching us and if we don’t catch it we could potentially hit a crisis at some point in the future,” he said.

Officials say if you want to help out, you can donate online or mail a check to the shelter at 501 Walnut Street in Owensboro.

There’s also a tab on their website you can click for volunteer sign up.

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