Programs and Services | LABOR COMMUNITY SERVICES

Food Assistance
The AFL-CIO Community Services program offers free food assistance to union members by collaborating with the Toledo Seagate Food Bank. Families receive a food basket which includes meat, grains, and seasonal goods. If needed, hygiene items as well as formula and diapers may also be included in the basket. To obtain a referral to the Seagate Food Bank please contact us.

Adopt-a-Family Economic Crisis Assistance Fund
The Adopt-a-Family program is an emergency utility and housing assistance program for union members who are facing financial hardship. To qualify for assistance, individuals must be a union member in good standing and out of work for 30 days. If the member qualifies, we may intervene to keep a utility from being shut off, or keep the member in their home.

Holiday Assistance
The holidays are a stressful time for most families, but when you add in job loss or illness the anxiety can be compounded. By collecting donations from supporters, we are able to provide holiday assistance to union members in the form of Thanksgiving food baskets provided by Toledo Seagate Food Bank and to provide gift cards for struggling families to buy food and gifts for the holidays. We also matches up companies and sponsors who would like to help workers facing hardship give their kids a merry Christmas.

Union Counselor Program
Each spring we hold a Union Counselor Activist Training (UCAN). Through the Union Counselor program, labor liaisons and labor agencies have recruited and trained thousands of union volunteers to connect people in need with the community resources that help. Other classes are available throughout the year upon request and may include FMLA, ADA, Workers Compensation, or Foreclosure Prevention.

Lettercarriers Annual Food Drive
Partnering with the United Way and the NALC, AFL-CIO Community Services coordinates the National Association of Letter Carriers annual food drive. The drive stocks local community food banks, pantries and shelters with non-perishables that Letter Carriers collect from customers along their mail routes. The drive, which has become the world's largest one-day food drive, was started by NALC in 1991 in cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service and the AFL-CIO.