Turning Outwards

In unsettling times, we’re trying to maintain a healthy balance between introspection social awareness because we believe that it’s just as important to look outwards as it is to look inwards. Following our last post about Covid-19, we realize that many of our friends are asking the same themselves the same questions that have been running through our minds for the past few weeks – what can I do to help? How can I contribute from afar? At the local level, many of us are buying gift certificates from small businesses (an impactful initiative to which we’ll return soon). On the national and international level, we consulted Elizabeth Chung's round up for Classy as well as Martin Lerma's round up for The Robb Report. We welcome any and all of your suggestions in the comments below. For now, here are some of the charities we’re keen to support:

1. CDC Foundation, @cdcfound | Created by Congress, the CDC Foundation mobilizes philanthropic and private-sector resources to support the critical health protection work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are raising emergency response funds to enable the CDC to respond to both immediate and planned needs related to COVID-19.

2. World Health Organization, @who | A new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Solidarity Response Fund will raise money from a wide range of donors to support the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to help countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund, the first-of-its-kind, enables private individuals, corporations and institutions anywhere in the world to come together to directly contribute to global response efforts, and has been created by the United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, together with WHO.

3. Heart to Heart International, @heart.to.heart.international | Infectious disease control is an area of expertise for Heart to Heart, and the organization has already sent crisis response teams to far-flung locations, such as the Marshall Islands, to support planning, preparedness and training. Donations will support those efforts.

4. Global Giving, @globalgiving | The organization is using donations to send doctors, nurses and other first responders to communities in need. They will deliver essentials to the elderly and struggling families in quarantined cities. Any donations will also be put towards purchasing protective masks, ventilators and other medical supplies.

5. No Kid Hungry, @nokidhungry | A national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hungry and poverty in the United Sates and around the world. After 25 years of successfully investing in local nonprofits and helping find the best approaches to eradicating poverty and hunger, Share Our Strength launched No Kid Hungry in 2010. They are working to make sure no child has to face a decision between staying healthy or staying nourished.

6. City Harvest, @cityharvestnyc | City harvest helped start the food rescue movement in 1982 when a group of New Yorkers saw that New York City had an abundance of excess food even while a large number of its residents struggled to feed themselves and their families. They are focused on keeping their trucks on the road, rescuing and delivering food for New Yorkers in need.

7. Save The Children, @savethechildren | In early February, Save the   Children delivered 36,000 face masks to health workers in Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter, and the organization has continued to make donations aimed at helping health workers. As its name implies, the charity is focused on the needs of children, and it acts proactively to support the care of the world’s most vulnerable youth.

8. MedShare, @medshareofficial | MedShare is an organization that sources and delivers surplus medical supplies and equipment to communities in need around the world. They are raising money to provide supplies, such as masks and gowns, to medical personnel who are treating patients and containing the virus.

9. Meals on Wheels, @mealsonwheelsamerica | Senior citizens are a high-risk population when it comes to the Covid-19 virus. As such, many seniors are staying in to avoid undue social interactions, while many others are homebound regardless. Meals on Wheels brings much-needed food to the elderly so they can stay inside, in the comfort and safety of their homes.

10. Direct Relief, @directrelief | Direct Relief is partnering with government officials and health experts globally to coordinate a response to the coronavirus outbreak. So far, through its vast infrastructure, the organization has made supply deliveries to 22 countries, which have included more than 1 million medical gloves, masks and other protective gear.

11. Feeding America, @feedingamerica | Hunger is, unfortunately, a perennial problem, but it is made much worse when many social services and local institutions—such as public schools—are forced to close. Feeding America is the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, and it is currently stepping into high gear as it funnels food-to-food pantries across the country.

12. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy, @funds4disaster  | The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is a charity that has earned a 4-star Charity Navigator rating and is also a trusted philanthropic partner of Google, has a COVID-19 Response Fund. This fund allows donors to give now to support preparedness, containment, response, and recovery activities.