Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 4/28/20 – COVID-19 Together is an effort to bring communities together to be grateful for what our healthcare industry and first responders are doing to keep us all safe as well as support our local restaurants and cafes that were hit hard by the crisis. For every Five Hundred Dollars raised, GIFT Global Initiative of LA www.ggiusa.org is BUYING meals from a local restaurant cafe and DELIVERING to a local hospital. The first delivery of meals was made to Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles from Rocco’s Neighborhood Pizza.
Tell us about GIFT Global Initiative’s work this week.
Since its launch, Covid-19 Together has bought hundreds of meal from local small businesses and delivered to hospitals such as Kaiser Permanente, Garden Grove Hospital and Olympia Medical Centre; We have fed hundreds of warm meals to our unsheltered homeless neighbors in Los Angeles; We have donated hand sanitizers and protective gear to our first responders like the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept and sent food supply to starving communities in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
GIFT launched its Covid-19 together initiative with 3 main goals in mind –
- Supporting our Small Businesses
- Supporting our Healthcare Heroes and First Responders and
- Serving the needs of Families hit by the current crisis
All contributions to the Covid-19 Together Initiative are used to
- Buy meals from local small businesses and deliver to local community hospitals for our healthcare professionals on the frontline of the Covid-19 fight.
- Buy meals from local small businesses to be delivered to “unsheltered” homeless population in the US.
- Buy Food and Basic Necessities for Families who live in informal settlements and slums in Africa (Sierra Leone, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania), Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines), Mexico and the US.
What moved you this week when you and your team were delivering meals?
The families we work with year around had not much to begin with but with the massive chaos this shut down has caused people who live on a meager daily wage are seeing their resources dry up at an alarming speed. Some of these families have young children to feed and we identified families who had no food for about 2-3 weeks. The children were going to bed hungry. This week, GIFT sent food and necessities to Africa with the goal of helping more than 4000 families who live in extreme poverty.
The foreign government aid received by some of these countries, has not reached the families and children who are dying of starvation. Due to our ongoing field operations, GIFT can deliver aid directly to these areas without any delays.
Back home in California, the situation is not any different. California has the largest homeless population in the country. Los Angeles County alone has about 39000 people on the streets, unsheltered who lack necessities such as food, clean water, a hot shower, sanitation, etc. Many were let go recently and are living in their cars on the streets or in the parking lots. It is heartbreaking to see the suffering, the youth homelessness is really upsetting.
But despite these struggles, there is also a great sense of unity. A deep understanding that WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER is bringing some generous small businesses to support Covid-19 together.
VEGAN JOINT, an incredibly generous restaurant joined our efforts this week and will be donating food every week to Covid-19 Together so GIFT volunteers can deliver to hospitals around town in LA.
CIREM Skincare, another all-American company that manufactures and tests skincare products in the US, donated hundreds of bottles of Hand Sanitizers so GIFT Volunteers can deliver those to our first responders. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, CIREM began using its manufacturing facilities to produce sanitizer products that feature 70 percent alcohol as well as the signature scent of CIREM’s classic line. Throughout the crisis, CIREM also will continue providing self-care packages to women’s safe houses in the Los Angeles area.
In times of crisis when contributions to Non-Profit Organizations are drying up, corporate partners like Vegan Joint and CIREM Skincare, are showing brave generosity thereby allowing humanitarian organizations to deliver our mission.
You can participate by
- Donating at https://www.ggiusa.org/donate/covid-19-together,
- Volunteering to deliver meals at https://www.ggiusa.org/become-a-volunteer
- And Sharing this message with Family and Friends.
All Donations are tax deductible for US tax payers. Questions and Recommendations may be mailed to [email protected]
How important is it to support small businesses during the Coronavirus?
Small local businesses are crucial to our country, they are the backbone of our economy employing 58.9 million people in the United States, or about 47.5% of the total private sector workforce. Their GDP contribution measured $5.9 trillion in 2014, the most recent year for which small business GDP data is available. Small businesses closing doors has been devastating to communities and the individuals who own and work in all sorts of small businesses.
The good news is that there is still plenty you can do to support them. Covid-19 Together aims to support these small businesses. Your favorite restaurants may have had to shut their doors, but many of them still offer takeout or delivery. Not only does that keep the business going, it also provides income for delivery drivers, kitchen staff and more.
You can show support to socially conscious businesses like Vegan Joint and CIREM Skincare, that continue to give back to our communities. Go order food from Vegan Joint today. If you need hand sanitizer, go on cirem.com and order from this generous American company. The CIREM Sanitizer will be available in 2-ounce bottles and will retail in a 3-pack for $19.99. It is anticipated that the product will be available to the public within the next week on cirem.com. That is exactly how we can all play our part and support our communities.
Do you have any additional thoughts?
We would like to give a shout out to all our volunteers and donors who continue to support Covid-19 Together. Humanitarian Organizations have witnessed a drop in donations and volunteer hours. No matter how rough it gets, we brave virus risk and continue to deliver aid to people who need it the most.
If you are reading this article, remember that there is always something you can do to support organizations like GIFT Global Initiative. You can Donate money, services, product, you can volunteer time and the easiest yet the most important thing you can do is simply help us spread the word by sharing Covid-19 updates and engaging family, friends and communities to play their part, join GIFT.
Go to https://www.ggiusa.org/donate/covid-19-together to contribute to Covid-19 Together.
- Follow us on Instagram @GIFTGLOBALINITIATIVE | @MANNADABHOLKAR | @KEITHKIRKWOOD1
- Follow us on Facebook @GIFTGlOBALINITIATIVE
- Email us at [email protected]