Jack Dorsey Vows to Donate $1 Billion to Fight the Coronavirus
Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter and Square, said on Tuesday that he planned to donate $1 billion, or just under a third of his total wealth, to relief programs related to
the coronavirus, in one of the more significant efforts by a tech billionaire to fight the pandemic.
Mr. Dorsey said he would put 28 percent of his wealth, in the form of shares in his mobile payments company Square, into a limited liability company that he had created, called Start Small. Start Small would make grants to beneficiaries, he said, with the expenditures to be recorded in a
publicly accessible Google document.
“Why now? The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime,” Mr. Dorsey said in a
series of tweets announcing his plans. “I hope this inspires others to do something similar.”
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Very cool. I like his plan and his huge effort.
Just saw another great article, describing all of the people who are currently stepping up:
How Capitalism Is Helping US Defeat COVID-19
How Capitalism Is Helping US Defeat COVID-19 - Self-Reliance Central
In times of crisis, Americans don’t look just to the government to save the day.
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But right now, as our nation struggles to deal with the coronavirus, we’re seeing proof our American companies are stepping up and helping. Businesses, big and small, are trying to do their part to help the U.S. defeat COVID-19. Just consider these examples:
—MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell announced last week that 75% of his company’s production will be converted to making face masks.
—
AK Wet Works in Seabrook, Texas, a small business that makes industrial painting and coating products, is now using its specialty to sanitize public places and other businesses. “We actually came to the idea of, why can’t we take our blast pots and actually create a vapor that can be mixed with a disinfectant, so we can actually sterilize things around us,” operations manager Dennis Hotz
told KTRK-TV, Houston’s ABC affiliate.
—The Young & Yonder distillery in Healdsburg, California, is now making hand sanitizer and giving it to customers who come in for to-go pickups. “The community has been incredible. Most people who came in also picked up a bottle or two of spirits,” said Sarah Opatz, who founded Young & Yonder with her husband in 2013,
according to The Press Democrat newspaper of Santa, Rosa, California. “It’s kept our business alive and growing. … We just wanted everybody to stay clean. We had the supply and ingredients.”
—General Motors, Ford, and Tesla are ramping up production of much-needed ventilators.
Helen Raleigh at The Federalist compiled an
excellent rundown of some of the other businesses that have stepped up during this crisis, including fashion companies that will switch over to making masks by the millions and drugstore chains, among them CVS and Walgreens, that are opening up mobile COVID-19 testing sites.
A coalition of CEOs launched the “
Stop the Spread” initiative to organize businesses to address the specific needs of society during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brooks Brothers, which normally makes suits and clothing, will produce masks and gowns. Flex Ltd., a supply chain and manufacturing company, is ramping up production of ventilators and protective equipment. Many other companies are joining in.
Parkdale Mills Inc. has joined efforts with a team of textile manufacturers to ramp up production of face masks and other similar materials.
“This is … a time of crisis that many people have not seen since the time of the world wars, Vietnam, you know, situations like that,” a Parkdale Mills spokesman
said in an interview with The Daily Signal on Wednesday. “And [in] these times, there is a call to action. Who is going to step up and supply a need and do the right thing? We are trying to do the best we can to do what we can for the country.”
Perhaps just as importantly in this time of stress and deep uncertainty, innumerable businesses are doing what they can to give additional aid to employees, many of whom are facing the prospect of losing their jobs and salaries.
The owner of Federico’s Pizzeria & Restaurant in Belmar, New Jersey, is dealing with a lockdown in the state by opening up a $50,000 line of credit to continue paying employees.
“I just took this [line of credit] out to guarantee that my employees, no matter what, they’ll continue to be able to pay their bills. You’ve got to take care of your employees,” Morin said. “Without your employees, you don’t have a business.”
Smuttynose Brewing in Hampton, New Hampshire, has been forced to close and only do deliveries, but it’s decided to retain and pay all of its full- and part-time staff through the pandemic.
“We feel this was an extremely important decision,” Andrew Hart, Smuttynose director of hospitality, said, according to
Seacoastonline. “There is a lot of uncertainty here, and we are in a unique and fortunate position where we are able to financially take care of our employees the best we can.”
There are numerous
other stories like this around the country as businesses and employees are doing their best to weather the storm.
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