How Leonardo DiCaprio Is Helping in The Fight Against COVID-19 With $15M
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Leonardo DiCaprio has always been an advocate for the health and well-being of people. His charity, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is dedicated to protecting wildlife and restoring damaged ecosystems. Now, he is lending his voice to a new cause. DiCaprio is teaming up with Apple, Laurene Powell Jobs, and the Ford Foundation to launch a crowdsourced fundraiser to provide meals for those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Leonardo DiCaprio Has Already Raised $13.2 Million For The Coronavirus Fundraiser
DiCaprio is looking to raise $15 million for America’s Food Fund. The initial goal of $12 million has already been exceeded. This fund will provide meals for lower-income families, children missing school lunch, elderly and unemployed people. He has already helped raise $13.2 million in only 72 hours. The money will go to Feeding America and World Central Kitchen. Feeding America helps nearly 40 million people each year with meals and support. World Central Kitchen helps impoverished countries in times of crisis including during earthquakes and tropical storms.
Organizations like this are extremely important because even before the coronavirus outbreak started, 37 million people struggled with hunger. Now there is an even larger demand for meals as many people have lost their jobs and cannot afford to feed their families. Over 10 million people have applied for unemployment in the United States since March 15. This is a staggering number of people and the economic impacts of coronavirus are becoming very apparent. Hopefully, this fundraiser can provide some sort of relief for these people.
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Several Celebrities Donated And Promoted The Fundraiser
Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and will.iam have all donated to the cause. Winfrey’s donation was $1 million. This is just a small portion of the $10 million she has donated overall to help Americans during this pandemic.
Actress Laura Dern also tweeted that she donated to the fundraiser. She tweeted “Join me in donating to #AmericasFoodFund, a new initiative to help fund the coordination, mobilization, distribution and delivery of meals to people impacted by COVID-19. 100% of donations go to partners @FeedingAmerica & @WCKitchen.”
Ellen Degeneres shared the link with her followers to urge people to get involved and help. Lady Gaga also tweeted “Proud to have donated to support #AmericasFoodFund, a new initiative directly supporting @FeedingAmerica & @WCKitchen to feed those in need & impacted by #COVID19. Thankful for my friends @leodicaprio@laurenepowell and @apple for putting this together.”
DiCaprio Thanked People For Their Donations
Emerson Collective, a social change organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs tweeted that 5,400 people donated to the cause. DiCaprio also expressed his gratitude in a tweet saying “Thank you to everyone who has supported #AmericasFoodFund.”
People also thanked him for his involvement as well as the $5 million combined donation he made with Powell Jobs. One Twitter user wrote, “I read that you are contributing part of the $12 million being committed to the launch of America’s Food Fund. You have delivered a clear message, with hope and love to overcome. Thank you so much.”
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If you are interested in donating to America’s Food Fund, you can check it out here. You can also read stories about those who have been helped by charities like Feeding America to get a glimpse of just how important they are during times of financial strain.
