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I just wrote in my post about Lin-Manuel Miranda and the newly released Hamilton duet a few of the things that companies are trying to do to support people who are home right now in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, either because of shutdowns or quarantine. Another celebrity who is helping out her fellow citizens is Bethenny Frankel. People has more:
Through the BStrong initiative and their partner, Global Empowerment Mission, she is raising funds to put together what she calls “BStrong corona kits.”
“BStrong corona kits will have the essentials for families to prevent [coronavirus],” Frankel shares. “We will give them masks and gloves and I’ve gotten hydration kits donated and antibacterial and sanitization wipes as well.”
“Our goal is to create 20,000 kits,” she says, and she plans to distribute them for prevention in poverty-stricken areas.
BStrong is also raising money for cash cards to be distributed to parents who cannot afford to keep their children out of school and to help provide lunches. They have already raised $50,000, she says.
“Bstrong is an initiative for people in crisis and this is a crisis,” she says. “My place of yes is taking a terrible situation and finding my way to help — without blame or politics, we simply get involved and do our part.”
Bethenny said that she was moved to do this when she realized that a lot of schools in New York City weren’t closing in part because the children would have nowhere to go and wouldn’t have meals during the day. She said: “That made me feel just so sad for people whose children are less fortunate and have to be at school even if the parents don’t want them to.” Facemasks won’t eliminate the risk of getting ill, but keeping your hands clean is so important. This isn’t the first time that Bethenny has used her BStrong initiative to help out during crises, and it’s wonderful of her to do.
Considering that there are awful people who are hoarding hand-sanitizer, I’m glad that Bethenny wants to distribute it, though I think her efforts to provide money for meals for children who might otherwise go without are going to be more useful. (Those two jerks will donate their 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer. How about not buying all of it in the first place?) On Sunday afternoon, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the schools in the city would close starting today, so those cash cards for meals will be essential.
Photos credit: Getty and Avalon.red
It’s so important to have people like her who think through the logistics and help. It’s easy to say shut it all down, but what does that mean for people who don’t have options? We have a nurse in our neighborhood who’s a single mom, no care options, and she’s needed at work. Elderly people with no family who are supposed to isolate but have nobody to get them stuff. Disabled people who still need therapy at clinics. If people don’t step up to help, they are all screwed.
One proposal that I heard was to keep a few schools in NYC open, for those kids that need a place to go, such as kids whose parents can’t stay home with them, such as medical professionals, and kids who get their meals at school. I (obviously) don’t know the logistics that would go into that, but if there were teachers willing to man a few schools (I don’t know if there were), it seems like it would have been the best solution over shutting everything down.
The governor here announced yesterday that all the schools would be closing. My sister just called and told me that they now have to work from home “until further notice” (she lives in Atlanta)
I went online yesterday and donated money to the local food bank.
I did the same in Switzerland. We don’t have a food bank per se, but different charities like Caritas run meals programs, so I made sure to donate cash so they can buy what they need. Hard times ahead, we need to care for each other.
Wonderful. Her BStrong foundation is fantastic. It’s nice to read some positive things. I am very privileged bc I am a stay at home mom so the school shut down in NY didn’t impact my family the way it has for others. I hope everyone is staying healthy.
That’s great of her!
All of the schools here are closed. Most of them are providing delivered or curbside picked up meals for those in need. A few local organizations have stepped up with that too.
Please donate to your local food bank or similar organization if possible.
I only know her from Celebitchy but she has a good head and compassionate heart.
There are a lot of practical things that have to happen. We went through an 8 day state of emergency in January and it made it really clear where there are huge gaps in the social support system.
Food banks here say that the biggest impact you can have is to donate money. They can turn $10 into $40-$50 by getting reduced rates from wholesalers.
Those two jerks are donating because the state seized their supply and donated it FOR THEM.
Im not a huge Bethenny fan but I have to respect someone who steps up to help. This isnt the first time she’s done something like this. She went to PR right after the hurricane to distribute supplies. It says a lot about her as a person.
I was thinking the very same thing. I’ve read gossip about her here and elsewhere that made me shake my head–but I’m willing to give anyone who is generous during emergencies a second chance.
Very inspiring!
I have to say this is such a complicated situation. I am a teacher in WV and all our schools have been shut down “to protect students and teachers”. So we were shocked when we were told that we (teachers and service personnel) are expect to still report at schools to prepare and distribute meals to the community.
I am so torn because I can’t stand the idea of any child going hungry, but I’m also upset that it’s demanded we expose ourselves. As a teacher, I’ve always felt that we are treated as disposable and that our health/safety isn’t a priority. Our insurance is unbelievably crappy and I can’t afford medical bills on my super stretched salary. If we don’t report we have to use our sick days, so then if you do end getting sick later, you will be docked pay because you must observe the 14 day mandatory absence policy.
I get so upset because no one thinks of these kids going hungry during the summer months or during other school breaks. It shouldn’t be that, in only times of crisis, do the powers that be realize this is a problem. When 70% of the children in state depend on school for food, that’s a crisis of it’s own and it should demand attention all the time.
School lunches should be healthy and free! Teachers should be paid better than bankers. Good teachers are enormously important.
I was a teacher (very briefly) in California and I empathize. Even with relatively strong unions, there was a culture of “just work through illness, it’s irresponsible to take the day off.” The administrators looked down on you if you had to leave early. Once I abruptly left a staff training to vomit into a trash can (I had a bad stomach flu) and one of the teachers who had been at this school for a long time told me to just tough it out and stay the rest of the training. I asked why. She warned me never to take time off because the principal didn’t like it and would hold it against you. Other teachers would tell me the same thing. In California 60% of public school kids depend on schools for both breakfast AND lunch. Teachers/schools are expected to solve every societal problem. Poverty, hunger, systemic racism/inequality, drugs, gang violence–it falls to schools and teachers to fix it, when it shouldn’t. The admins were trying to get some of us to do well-being assessments and home visits for ‘at-risk’ students as an adjunct duty. Visiting students’ homes. That violates every professional boundary that teachers have. The union had to intervene. Admin just didn’t want to spend the money to hire a (badly needed) social worker/psychologist. I was very lucky to have good health insurance as a teacher. But I totally empathize with your feeling like they do not value you or your health. They do not. America does not value its teachers, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the majority of teachers are women. Women on the whole are undervalued, and teaching is seen as a ‘women’s profession,’ so teachers do not get the resources or support they need. Because as women, they expect that we will just soldier on and make do. We care about the kids SO much and administrators and society at large, they take advantage of how much we care. The work you do is vital and important. I am so disappointed that your school is putting you at risk.