Artists from all genres are coming together to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic and those who have been impacted by it. Seeing the grief the virus has caused across America, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and more have stepped up to donate funds to various causes.
Rihanna has been one of the most involved artists when it comes to making pledges. Her non-profit Clara Lionel Foundation, which focuses on education and emergency relief in underserved areas around the world, made a $5 million donation to various COVID-19 relief causes. The funds will go towards stocking food banks in the U.S., providing testing resources abroad and suppling medical workers with critical protective equipment.
Not long after the foundation’s pledge, Rihanna personally agreed to donate funds of $1 million to organizations in hard-hit New York and Los Angeles, as well as the Fund For Public Schools and the American Civil Liberties Union. Jay-Z later matched her pledge through his Shawn Carter Foundation.
“In times of crisis it is imperative that we come together as one community to ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, has access to critical needs: shelter, health, nutrition and education. The only way to get through this pandemic is with love and action” wrote Gloria Carter, Jay-Z’s mother and foundation co-founder/CEO.
Dolly Parton is supporting her Nashville community by donating $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers. With no known cure or vaccine to prevent infection, the race is on in the medical community to research and test possible solutions, which experts warn are at least 12 to 18 months away from potential widespread use.
“My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” the country legend tweeted. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
Like Parton, the rockers of Fall Out Boy are putting the focus on their own community. The band donated $100,000 to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund to honor their hometown roots and help locals battling the crisis.
“It’s important to us that we give back and support the community and local heroes who are on the front lines any way we can,” bassist Pete Wentz said in a statement. “No act of kindness is too small right now. Check in with the people you love. Support the businesses you love if you can. Stay vigilant and hopeful. Everyone is affected by this, and we win by coming together and thinking of the world as bigger of ourselves.”
Taylor Swift is also involved in donating, but with a focus on her fans now facing personal struggles. Swift has discretely sent out $3,000 to fans that have reached out documenting their sudden financial hardships with the pandemic leaving many out of work or facing unexpected medical bills. Many of her grateful fans that received funding took to Twitter to share their relief for Swift’s gesture.
