NANUET - Donations are down at Rockland County's largest food pantry. Volunteers aren't coming in.Protective gear for workers, like gloves and facemasks, is hard to come by.

But need has already jumped — about a third more families than expected showed up at People to People's door seeking food last week. And, the nonprofit's leaders say, it's only going to get worse.

"We can't close," said Diane Serratore, CEO of People to People, Inc. Scores of people have been laid off, furloughed or otherwise frozen out of the job market amid the coronavirus economic crash. "We are seeing an increase. ... These folks have no work and they're not going to have any money. We have to stay open."

To help raise cash and concern, dozens of Rockland County-based performers plan to join a virtual concert, “ROCKland Helping Rockland: An Interthon for People to People.” The concert is set to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11. It will be streamed on People to People's Facebook page and LCM247's YouTube channel.

Performers will be in their homes and will perform about 10 minutes each.

Viewers will be able to donate via People to People's website, peopletopeopleinc.org; to a direct donation page, peopletopeopleinc.org/rockland-helping-rockland; or via text, which be set up during the concert.

While the goal is fundraising, the lineup offers an opportunity to see Rockland-based entertainers of all stripes perform amid coronavirus-era isolation.

"It just makes me so proud and grateful to be living in Rockland County with people who are so talented and care so much about people who have so little," Serratore said.

The lineup

Among the performers: Suffern native Grace VanderWaal, who rocketed to fame during her victorious stint on "America's Got Talent" and now stars in the Disney+ movie "Stargirl."

Broadway performer Rita Harvey and composer/producer Neil Berg will perform together.

Johnny Murkowski, drummer for the New Riders of the Purple Sage, is also scheduled.

Singer/songwriter Top Chapin, known for his fun and irreverent children's music as well as charity efforts, is also set to perform. The well-known Chapin Sisters duo — his daughters — are slated too.

Chapin, known as the Hudson Valley troubadour, and his daughters are already offering musical interludes for quarantined families. "Mornings with Papa Tom," free performances posted live on Facebook and Instagram. Family singalong favorites like "Family Tree" have been helping plenty of kids and parents alike get through the self-isolation doldrums.

Chapin's "mini-concert family breaks," which take place at 11 a.m. daily, are also being employed to help people who are food insecure. The concerts help raise money for WhyHunger the nonprofit founded in the 1970s by musician Harry Chapin — Tom's brother and the Chapin Sisters' uncle — to advocate for food access in the U.S. and worldwide. Grammy-winning artist Harry Chapin, who died in 1981, was a major influence as a musician and humanitarian.Tom Chapin is a founding board member of WhyHunger.

Songwriter-performer Joe D'Urso, who is on the board of WhyHunger and founded the Rockland-Bergen Music Festival, will also perform for the fundraiser. Plus, he's an organizer.

The other organizers are Patrick Heaphy, who owns LCM 247 production studio in Pearl River, and Joe Allen, former board chairman of People to People and philanthropist.

"They all were very fast to say yes," Allen said of the 35-and-growing local musicians who will appear during the April 11 streaming event. "It really says a lot about the music community in Rockland."

Stretched thin

Like other nonprofits, coronavirus socked People To People's fundraising efforts, with the agency scrapping big events as the risk grew.

With a big spring gala canceled and its premier fundraising event, "Down The Shore," postponed indefinitely, Allen said revenue is running low.

"We just have to offset not far from $100,00 we're losing this spring," Allen said. "Not only are we crushed by new people coming, we're crushed by revenue streams being cut off."

The agency's volunteer pool is stretched too. Corporations often send teams of volunteers in to help, Serratore said. "All those employees are working from home." Most of their regular volunteers are senior citizens, Serratore said. They are staying home so they can stay safe.

But, Serratore said, "we're still getting it done."

The agency has made changes to keep clients, workers and volunteers safe. There's curbside pickup only. Bags are prepacked instead of giving people choices in what kind of food works best for their families. Clients drive up and the bags are put on a cart and rolled out to the vehicle. Clients take the bags and put them in their vehicle. The cart is then brought back and sterilized.

While people usually schedule appointments, Serratore said, people in need are just showing up.

"Last Thursday there 110 families in one day," Serratore said. "There's usually 50-60 families."

In 2019, People to People provided assistance to nearly 1,400 Rockland households. Currently, the agency predicts it will aid 2,100 in 2020.

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Since groups are canceling food drives for the time being, People to People now runs an ongoing virtual food drive — the link can be found on peopletopeopleinc.org.

Similar to any online shopping, donors choose what goes in the cart, from infant formula to bags of rice to boxes of raisins. Then, they can pay for the specific items via credit or debit cards or PayPal.

Allen said the agency has pivoted to respond to soaring need before. "It's very much like after Hurricane Sandy where people didn't know what to do so they ended up at our door," Allen said.

People to People made it happen then, he said, and will meet the need again.

"We don't know which person got laid off tomorrow and will be in a jam by Friday," Allen said. "We have to prepare for them."

Come to the concert

ROCKland Helping Rockland, an internet telethon, takes place from 7-11 p.m. Saturday, April 11. It will be shown on People to People's Facebook page (facebook.com/peopletopeoplefeedsthehungry) and via YouTube, on the LCM247 channel.

The lineup includes: Grace VanderWaal, Tom Chapin, Neil Berg, Rita Harvey, Joe D’Urso, Johnny Markowski, Bobby DiBlasio, Roues Brothers, The Levins, Tim O’Donohue, Arlon Bennett, Brett Eidman, Alice Leon and Al Greene, Adam Falcon, Joanne Lediger, The Foxfires, Yvonne Sotomayer, Loretta Hagen, Kenn Rowell, Caleb Caming, Red Sun Radio, Lennon Nersesian, Sammy & Jules Quinn, Bill Reiner, Gary Solomon, Rich Freitag, Anna Veleva, David Frye and Michelle Solomon. More are expected to be added.

The concert is free for all viewers. Donations can be sent via People to People's direct donation page, peopletopeopleinc.org/rockland-helping-rockland. Text collection will be enabled during the concert.

Sponsors are being sought; for information, contact Serratore at diane@peopletopeopleinc.org.

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland. Support local journalism; go to lohud.com/specialoffer to find out how.