It’s often tricky to figure out the best way to donate time, money, or services to help healthcare workers facing the threat of COVID-19. What if food gets contaminated? What if I don’t have the correct protective gear to help out? Where can I help? Who can I help?
Americans are coming together in a big way to help those working tirelessly to fight the spread of COVID-19. Organizations have rapidly formed from a coalition of students, private civilians, chefs, and hospital leaders to lend a hand and mobilize citizens to easily pitch in. Here are a few places to get started:
Sending food helps both healthcare workers and local restaurants, who must rely on pickup and delivery orders to stay afloat during social distancing measures. Here are a few organizations making food donations simple:
Feeding the frontline
A grassroots organization formed at a pizza shop in Boston is working to provide restaurants with a donation-based framework that will help them and those in need. If you’re in Boston or Portland, Maine, start here.
Frontline Foods
Frontline foods connects civilizations looking to make a donation to local chapters in more than 39 cities across the country. You can also donate nationally to feed hospital workers and support the local restaurant industry of your choice. Start here.
Off Their Plate
For every $100 donated, Off Their Plate sends 10 meals to the COVID frontline and restores 3 shift hours to the community. So far, Off their Plate has raised $2.2 million. Start here.
Chefs for America
World Central Kitchen has developed #ChefsforAmerica to support and feed communities in need. WCK is working across America to safely distribute individually packaged fresh meals in communities that need support, for children and families to pick up and take home, as well as delivered to seniors who cannot venture outside. To donate, start here.
Feeding America
Feeding America has set up a COVID-19 Response Fund to allow civilians to easily contribute and provides food and funds to local food banks across the country. Start here.
The CDP COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy developed the CDP COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to support preparedness, containment, response and recovery activities for those most affected and for the responders. Start here.
Give Directly
GiveDirectly, a non-profit that allows civilians to donate directly to the world’s poor, has partnered with Propel, a company that works on benefit delivery to recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps), to identify SNAP recipients and direct money to them. Start here.
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
The World Health Organization, UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation jointly have created the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Donations to this fund will go toward financing diagnostic tests, supplies for health workers and support for research and development. Start here.
Retailers are pitching in by offering products on a buy one, give one model to supply healthcare workers and communities in need.
Allbirds
Allbirds, a direct-to-consumer footwear company, is stepping up to directly help medical workers by offering free shoes for healthcare workers and is now offering “buy one, give one” options for their products. Start here.
P.S. These Wool Runner-up Mizzles are weather proof.
Universal Standard
Universal Standard, an inclusive, body-positive clothing retailer, is giving away clothing to medical workers. Now, the company is launching a buy-one-give-one offer to shoppers: For each purchase from its Foundation collection, the brand will donate a cozy clothing item to a health care worker. Start here.
Birdwell
For every reversible mask sold, Birdwell, a surf clothing company, donates a mask to CORE, a non-profit community-powered effort to serve Los Angeles in the fight against COVID-19. Start here.
Have their scrubs washed
Cleanly, an on-demand mobile laundry service, is accepting donations to help get healthcare workers’ laundry taken care of for free. Start here.
