By now nearly everyone on Earth has been impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic, which was officially recognized as such by the WHO on March 11th 2020. Now, five weeks later the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reports there are 2.3 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally and more than 700,000 cases in the US alone. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain. The same disease has resulted in more than 157,000 deaths globally and 37,000 deaths in the US as of April 17, 2020.
The CDC and WHO have recommended limiting face-to-face contact with others as the best way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease. This is now infamously known as social distancing. The result has been literally billions of people being impacted by local and federal government mandated business closures and lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus.
Our own Nate and Larissa Reynolds were forced to shut down the Never Settle Fitness personal training facility located in Indianapolis, IN. They still offer training services online starting at $25 per month.
There is no doubt Coronavirus has become a global health and economic disaster requiring the full support of the non-profit sector. As the Executive Director of the Never Settle Foundation, I know we are in a position to step up and make a difference.
Never Settle Response to Pandemic
The last several weeks have been difficult and unprecedented in many ways. However, I do believe there are positive things that we can learn from this experience. I’ve been inspired by the resilience of non-profits, businesses, and individuals working together to provide for the needs of their community. That is what the Never Settle message is all about!
The Never Settle Foundation funds programs across many sectors all of which are impacted by Coronavirus in some way. Some of our partners focus exclusively on health and public emergencies while others are retrofitting their programs to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
Today I am announcing that the Never Settle Foundation is pledging $10,000 to support the critical health care and first responder efforts of our non-profit partners and their volunteers. In addition, we will match the first $1,000 that is fundraised or donated by Team Never Settle.
That means we will donate up to $11,000 from our Sustainability Fund to support Coronavirus relief programs. And as always 100% of your online donations directly support program costs. More than ever, I am proud to be a partner and fundraiser for the following five non-profits that are helping in the fight against Coronavirus.
1. Samaritan’s Purse
Samaritan’s Purse stands ready with highly trained and skilled medical professionals to respond to any medical crisis. They opened a 68-bed Emergency Field Hospital in New York’s Central Park on April 1 to provide critical care for people seriously ill with COVID-19. They have been running a similar medical facility outside of Milan, Italy since March 20.
2. Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon deploys volunteers with military or first responder experience to respond to natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti or Hurricane Harvey in Houston. They were preparing for COVID-19 for weeks before cases were confirmed in the U.S. Now volunteers are actively serving vulnerable neighbors in their own communities with support from HQ.
3. Splash
Splash is committed to ensuring that children in vulnerable communities have clean water, handwashing stations, decent toilets, and hygiene education. Handwashing with soap is the first line of defense against any virus and one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Splash is ramping up the production of their patented handwashing stations to provide them to the NGOs, companies, and governments who can deploy them broadly.
4. The Adventure Project
The Adventure Project has created thousands of jobs for people in Africa including training nearly 400 Community Health Workers. Experts warn fragile healthcare systems in many African countries could be overwhelmed by a severe outbreak of COVID-19. These frontline healthcare workers are risking their own health to provide critical services to their families and neighbors. We have an opportunity to support them with more resources for the long road ahead.
5. Care Portal
The Global Orphan Project is a leader in orphan care because of thier innovative and long-term approach. Their online platform, CarePortal, allows you to directly pay for the critical needs of hurting children, elders, and under-employed in your community. CarePortal has already served more than 60,000 people, but COVID-19 caused a major spike in requests so continued support is necessary.
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