Dominick Sorrentino

For the past few months – which have arguably been the hardest of this pandemic so far – we’ve made an effort to bring attention to some of the truly extraordinary ways companies have responded to this crisis.

Like when a London restaurant transformed into a community grocery store in 2 hours. Or when a New England craft-store chain created a step-by-step video tutorial on how to sew facemasks with spare cloth around the house. Or Lego’s ingenious, somewhat poignant celebration of Earth Day, which gave children stuck at home a way to think beyond their four walls.

Let’s not also forget the companies that made it easier and more affordable for businesses to launch their own virtual events. And the countless organizations that helped support doctors, nurses and medical volunteers – from enterprises to SMBs.

Spring 2020 has been profoundly exhausting. But upon looking back at these many demonstrations of goodwill, it’s hard to not feel at least a little bit encouraged by humanity.

And even now, as more companies are given a chance to open their doors and recover some revenue, we’re seeing many of them continue to go out of their way to help out however they can.

So this week, we wanted to showcase and thank the helpers who keep on helping:

Life science companies and COVID-19 survivors launch national campaign to drive blood plasma donation

Medical researchers are seeking plasma donations from survivors of COVID-19 so they can study antibodies and use their findings to help others fight the virus.

To help in this monumental endeavor, cohorts of companies in life sciences, technology, health care, health insurance, nonprofits and more have put together a plasma donation drive under the banner of “The Fight Is In Us.”

Microsoft, for example, has built an AI bot that “guides people through their eligibility as a plasma donor and directs them to the nearest donor center.”

UberHealth, meanwhile, is providing free roundtrip transportation for eligible donors to and from donor centers. Other companies joining in the fight include:

  • MayoClinic.
  • LabCorp.
  • Grifols.
  • Anthem.
  • The MITRE Corporation.
  • Ad Council.
  • Ashfield Healthcare,
  • Many more.

If you’re a coronavirus survivor interested in donating plasma, you can learn more here.

Businesses provide Off Their Plate donations in spades

Some contributions are more modest than others, but when you pool them all together, you end up with an ocean of relief.

Case in point: Off Their Plate is a grassroots organization that helps provide relief funds to struggling restaurants during this time, while also helping to feed communities. So far, the organization has pledged more than 500,000 meals for healthcare workers or those facing hunger as a result of this crisis. In total, about $2,665,830 have gone directly toward helping keep restaurant workers on payroll.

Every penny has come from donations, many from businesses. For instance:

Two restaurants in South Philly that received relief funds even went as far as deciding to use that money to churn out meals for healthcare workers.

To learn more about Off Their Plate, including how to donate, visit the official website.

Dairy farmers everywhere are giving away their surpluses

Got Milk? Give it away.

At least that’s what dairy farmers all across the U.S. are doing with their surpluses. From Connecticut to Wisconsin, milk mongers are living by a credo of “waste not, want not” by donating to people in need.

There are two ways to look at this. The first is that it’s a whole lot better than just tossing the milk away.

But the other more optimistic perspective is that they’re doing what little they can with what lot they have.

We’re going with the second one here, and choosing to believe that this glass is half full.

(With milk, in this case.)

And to the rest of you helpers out there …

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Everyone has been affected by COVID-19. But your acts of kindness – however small – have helped make life better for someone.

From all of us here at Brafton, stay well, stay optimistic and stay kind.