Direct Relief in Tandem with Sean “Diddy” Combs Creates $25 Million Covid-19 Fund for Community Health

Anchor Donations from Lead Sponsor 3M and Sean Diddy Combs’ Team Love Initiative to Support Safety-Net Health Workers

Direct Relief recently announced the establishment of the Covid-19 Fund for Community Health, a vehicle for supporting the safety-net healthcare workers and community health facilities serving America’s most vulnerable communities.

The fund initially holds $25 million for disbursement to help health workers and facilities manage the strains put on them by Covid-19. The funds will be disbursed to community health centers, free & charitable clinics and pharmacies, and other non-profit health providers in Direct Relief’s partner network.

The Covid-19 Fund for Community Health is anchored by a $10 million investment from lead sponsor 3M. A portion of this investment is dedicated to 3M’s international markets responding to Covid-19, as prioritized by Direct Relief global insights.

“Since the outbreak began, 3M has addressed the Covid-19 pandemic from all angles and across all stakeholders, and this includes supporting our community partners like Direct Relief,” said 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman. “Throughout this global crisis, 3M will continue to look for ways to help in the fight against Covid-19.”

Sean Diddy Combs’ Team Love Initiative organized a celebrity dance-a-thon on Easter Sunday with proceeds going to Direct Relief. One major intended use the funds is to help community health providers in cities that have seen high Covid-19 fatality rates among African Americans, such as Detroit, New Orleans and New York City.

“Covid-19 has affected communities across the country, but especially communities of color,” said Sean “Diddy” Combs. “The Team Love dance-a-thon gave us a chance to not only bring people together during these challenging times, but also raise funds to support our heroes working on the front lines. This partnership we’ve established with Direct Relief will allow us to continue to address the effects this terrible disease has on our most vulnerable communities.”

The fund will be used in part to help healthcare workers with unexpected costs due to the coronavirus pandemic, such as childcare, temporary housing or paid leave for sick workers. It will also support the protection and safety of health workers, telehealth service expansion, and promote access to medicine and Covid-19 screening.

The largest group of beneficiaries of the fund will be the network of Federally Qualified Health Centers, local non-profit community health providers serving 29 million (1 in 11) U.S. residents, including 1 in 3 individuals living in poverty, 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries, 1 in 5 rural Americans and 1 in 9 children.

“These funds will provide some of the essential resources that community health center workers desperately need on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Tom Van Coverden, NACHC President and CEO. “They are practicing medicine under difficult circumstances and with tremendous courage and innovation, converting their facilities, launching testing sites and expanding telehealth screening. They are also reaching out to vulnerable populations who disproportionately suffer higher illness and mortality rates from the virus. We do not know for certain how long this pandemic will last, but what is certain is that primary care and health centers are critical to the national response.”

The fund will also support free & charitable clinics and pharmacies, which operate 1,400 service locations and serve 2 million patients who are among the most vulnerable members of U.S. society.

As one of the first disbursements from the fund, Direct Relief will donate an additional $1 million to the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, building on the $1 million donated earlier in April.

“Self-initiated, voluntary acts of leadership and generosity – both from corporate leaders such as 3M and on a personal level as exemplified by Team Love and its captain Sean “Diddy” Combs – are such a powerful examples of stepping up, pulling together, and making sure that the courage of health workers on the front lines is honored with meaningful support, and that the people most at risk in this pandemic are cared for,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. “Direct Relief is able to launch this effort only because those with the most prominent voices have used them to support those whose voices are often not heard.”

Since 2017, Direct Relief has provided more $650 million to U.S. safety-net health providers in the form of donated medicine and medical supplies.

SOURCE: Direct Relief

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Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.