Yesterday the Citi Foundation announced it is committing $15 million to support efforts to combat coronavirus and its effects globally and locally.
The $15 million will be split evenly between three areas: COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which supports the World Health Organization; No Kid Hungry, a US-based campaign working to end childhood hunger; and international, country-specific efforts in countries that are severely impacted.
Contributions to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund will go toward rapidly detecting cases, stopping transmission of the virus, and caring for those affected. The Fund also is providing protective equipment for frontline health workers, equipping diagnostic laboratories, improving surveillance and data collection, and establishing and maintaining intensive care units.
Over 200K cases have been diagnosed globally and more than 8,000 people have died, per WHO. In the U.S 7,038 have been diagnosed, with 97 fatalities, per the CDC.
“These funds are just a first step in helping to support those immediately impacted by this crisis, including healthcare workers on the frontline and the food banks in the U.S. that are feeding our young people,” said Mike Corbat, CEO of Citi. “This unprecedented situation demands that we continue to respond thoughtfully and decisively using the breadth of our philanthropic efforts and our core business activities.”
You too can join organizations such as the Citi Foundation in supporting your local community. In fact, Global Citizen has launched a new campaign that asks world leaders, corporations and individuals to take action to support the Solidarity Response Fund, slow the spread of COVID-19 and lessen its impacts. In addition to supporting the Fund, the campaign is calling on governments to increase their funding of the World Health Organization, which is at the frontlines of the pandemic. You can take action here.
Along with a commitment to the Solidarity Response Fund, the Citi Foundation’s commitment is addressing a critical issue in the U.S. As schools around the country are ordered closed, students in vulnerable families who rely on school meals will miss 101 million meals this week alone. Citi Foundation’s support of No Kid Hungry will help provide meals to the children in need.
Citi Foundation’s commitment also includes support for scaling No Kid Hungry’s work to provide emergency grants, divert resources to help the hardest-hit communities, and make sure families know how to find meals while schools are closed.
In addition to Foundation support, Citi will match donations from the general public to No Kid Hungry up to $2 million. Visit nokidhungry.org/citi or text CITI to 877-877 to donate today. You can also help kids get the critical meals they need by sharing No Kid Hungry’s emergency grant application with schools and organizations in your community.
Citi is also offering help to its impacted customers in the US through a range of measures, including account assistance, hardship programs, and additional small business support. Please visit citi.com/COVID19 for more information.