The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 700,000 people across the globe. With cases on the rise, corporations are stepping up to help protect and support people in need of assistance and flatten the curve.
Amid shortages of protective equipment and governments struggling to provide tests and supplies to hospitals, companies are doing what they can to help.
Here are 10 companies actively fighting the pandemic by pledging money, making hand sanitizer, or helping children attend school from home.
1. Expensify
The expense management software company Expensify is redirecting its funds to Expensify.org/hunger to match grocery store purchases for families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reimbursing SNAP purchases of up to $50 per family. Right now, 22.4% of shoppers in the United States are currently struggling to afford groceries due to the pandemic, according to a Statista survey.
2. Crocs
Crocs, the shoe company, is donating 10,000 pairs of shoes to frontline health care workers in the US as part of the company’s "A Pair for Healthcare" program. Hospitals around the world are currently experiencing protective equipment shortages, which places health care workers at risk.
3. Adobe
Computer software company Adobe is offering free access to Adobe Creative Cloud desktop apps to help facilitate distance learning for students and teachers. The promotion will last until May 31. Around 862 million children are currently out of school due to the coronavirus pandemic.
4. Uhaul
The storage rental company Uhaul is providing 30 days of free self-storage to college students in the US and Canada who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The offer also extends to Collegeboxes and U-Box containers. More than 88 colleges and universities in the US have either cancelled or suspended in-classroom instruction.
5. Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods, the food service company, has pledged $1 million in cash and product donations to help people in the US suffering from food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic.
6. Harbor Freight
Harbor Freight, the discount tool and equipment retailer, is donating its entire supply of personal protective equipment to hospital emergency rooms across the US, shipping 44 million nitrile gloves and hundreds of thousands of face masks. The US is currently experiencing a shortage of face masks, which can protect health care workers and civilians alike from infection.
7. Apple
The technology company Apple is donating 10 million face masks to health care facilities in the US and across Europe.
8. LVMH
Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH is producing and distributing hand sanitizer free of charge to hospitals throughout France.
9. Airbnb
The home rental platform Airbnb is providing free housing to 100,000 first responders and health care workers around the world.