Rihanna’s Charity Donating $5 Million to Coronavirus Relief

Rihanna is doing her part to help those affected by the coronavirus and is working with her nonprofit organization the Clara Lionel Foundation to donate $5 million to relief efforts, the foundation announced in a statement. “When we first began this year, never could we have imagined how COVID-19 would so dramatically alter our lives,” the statement read. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, this pandemic will affect us all. And for the world’s most vulnerable, the worst may be yet to come.

“Over the past five years CLF has been one of the first organizations to respond to some of the world’s most devastating natural disasters, and we’ve seen firsthand the profound and unintended consequences of not being prepared,” the message continued. “That’s why Clara Lionel Foundation has provided $5 million to the following organizations to immediately mobilize a broad response working with on-the-ground partners that include Direct Relief, Feeding America, Partners in Health, The World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the International Rescue Committee, and others.”

The statement adds that funds will go support local food banks serving the elderly and at-risk communities, the acceleration of testing and care in countries like Haiti and Malawi, protective equipment for frontline health workers and diagnostic labs, the establishment and maintenance of intensive care units, acceleration of the development of vaccines and other therapies across the globe, healthcare worker training, virus prevention and containment and distribution of critical respiratory supplies.

The Clara Lionel Foundation was founded by Rihanna in 2012 in honor of her late grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, and the organization focuses on funding education and emergency preparedness and response programs around the world.

In addition, Rihanna has reportedly offered to purchase ventilators $700,000 worth of ventilators for Barbados as it battles the coronavirus. There are currently over 453,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and over 20,500 deaths, and the rate at which the disease is spreading is different in every country as is the government response.

Several celebrities have made donations amid the pandemic, including Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, who donated $1 million to relief efforts including the New York Governor’s Office for the purchase of ventilators and to WIN, which runs multiple women’s shelters across New York City. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, donated $1 million to North American food banks and Ciara and Russell Wilson are donating 1 million meals to Food Lifeline.

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