GIVING BACK IN THE TIME OF COVID19 CRISIS - HOW UBER EATS, NEDERBURG & MASTERCARD HAVE AND HOW YOU CAN TOO

With all the negativity and negative impacts during this pandemic, I thought why not find the light at the end of the tunnel and find the good and positivity. Lockdown sucks and difinitely brought to the surface a lot of issues in our society - property, hunger, unemployment and just plain sadness, isolation and a general sense of cabin fever for even the most privileged. We want things to go bad to "normal". But were things that good to begin with? As I'm sure you've heard, a phrase that's stuck with me lately, is why not create a new "normal"? A normal that's obviously a multitude better than the pandemic but also better than pre-pandemic life. I'm definitely not trying to undermine the struggles that people are going through but overall, lets think of this as a do over, and come out of it stronger than before.


To start off and to inspire you to hopefully ignite a sense of optimism in you, I'm going to highlight some of the people and brands stepping up and playing their part for the better of humanity :)

NEDERBURG DONATES R100 000 TO EAT OUT RESTAURANT RELIEF FUND

Starting with a South African favourite, Nederburg may not have been able to sell their divine selection of wines during the hard lockdown but they're never the less still played their park to help restaurants that are feeding the hungry during the lockdown. 

“We’ve launched the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund so that empty kitchens and talented people can be mobilised to feed the hungry. The fund is offering financial support to these restaurants to help them pay their staff and to buy food – to keep them in business so they can keep putting food on the table for hungry families. We hope to help them remain operational, so they can reopen their doors as viable businesses when the time comes.” says Werner Hayward of Eat Out. 

HOW CAN YOU HELP: Click here to donate to the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund

#EatOutHelpOutSA #RestaurantFundSA #ICanHelp #COVID19SouthAfrica

UBER EATS PARTNERS WITH KIMBERLY-CLARK TO SUPPORT LOCAL SHELTERS

We all remember the panic buying frenzy at the beginning of lockdown. People were going a bit crazy stockpiling on essential items (*cough* TP *cough*). But what about those who did not have the means to purchase essentials, such as women and children who stay in shelters?

In response to this elevated need Uber Eats and Kimberly-Clark launched an initiative to support vulnerable women and children to ensure they have the essential products they need during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During May, for every Kotex® or Huggies® product consumers purchase via Medicare Pharmacy in the Uber Eats app, Kimberly-Clark will match and donate to a women or children’s shelter in Johannesburg, Pretoria or Cape Town. 

With a new feature in the Uber Eats app, customers can also easily send essential items such as Kotex® or Huggies® products to friends or family and share the status of delivery with a simple tracking link.

HOW CAN YOU HELP: Purchase essential items such as Kotex or Huggies on the Uber Eats app OR donate these items to shelters in your own personal capacity

MASTERCARD FOCUSES ON PROVIDING HELPING 25 MILLION WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS GROW THEIR BUSINESSES

A bit of a bigger player is Mastercard who in 2015 committed to ‘financial inclusion’ through its pledge to bring a total of 1 billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025. In South Africa, Mastercard has partnered with fintechs like uKheshe and iKhokha and other financial services providers to offer low cost digital payment solutions to SMMEs  They've also  partnered with Junior Achievement South Africa to help equip young women with the skills to start and grow their own businesses, and instill the discipline of earning a living, saving, spending and investing. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: For the next few months make a point of supporting small, local businesses. Our SMME's need our support to survive this more than anything.

These are just some of the ways that some bigger business are playing their part to help during the pandemic. Every little bit counts.

Click here to donate to the solidarity fund.