Rihanna is continuing to give large-scale donations toward COVID-19 relief efforts.
Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation teamed up with Big Sean‘s Sean Anderson Foundation to give $3.2 million to the Michigan cities of Detroit and Flint. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, the David Rockefeller Fund and Lyft have partnered with Rihanna and Big Sean for the cause.
The money will benefit a number of local organizations with a range of necessities such as rental assistance, temporary housing, food distribution, social support services, bail relief and foster care.
Some of those organizations include Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Coordinated Access Model Program, Freedom House, Flint Metro Community Development and Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
The executive director of the Clara Lionel Foundation, Justine Lucas, shed light in a statement on why it’s crucial to help Michigan’s most needy.
“We continue to see an urgent need for rapid-response efforts to ensure cities don’t lose the opportunity to gain ground against this outbreak as existing issues are being dramatically exacerbated by this pandemic,” she explained.
“We need specific, actionable solutions to fill critical gaps for the most vulnerable,” added Lucas. “If we are to succeed in protecting the health and well-being of as many people as possible — which we must — we all must get involved.”
The Detroit News reports that Wayne County, of which Detroit is a part, has the most cases of COVID-19 in Michigan, with 17,571 as of Wednesday, May 6. Detroit makes up the most of those cases.
In April, Rihanna and Jay-Z announced that they would donate $2 million to help COVID-19 relief efforts being led by the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, the Fund for Public Schools, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the New York Immigration Coalition.
Some specific ways in which the money will be used include providing daycare, supplies and learning materials for children of first responders and frontline health-care workers. It also will provide economic support for undocumented workers and meals for seniors and the homeless in emergency shelters.
The Clara Lionel Foundation said it’s donated over $20 million with its partners so far.
“I personally want to thank Rihanna and her Clara Lionel Foundation and Jack Dorsey’s Start Small Fund for stepping up to help groups in Detroit and Flint on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a statement. “This generous gift will give these essential nonprofits much-needed resources to help address the needs of those impacted most by COVID-19.”
