Rihanna and Jack Dorsey are continuing to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. After a $4.2 million donation back in April directed to domestic violence survivors, the two are teaming up one more time to give $15 million toward causes “addressing mental health issues, food insecurity, and income loss.” Dorsey announced the news on Twitter, saying that his #StartSmall initiative was partnering with Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, specifically mentioning that they would work to assist “individuals excluded from federal stimulus programs in Newark and Chicago.”
“Racial injustices perpetrated by systems built to keep people safe are exacerbating the coronavirus’s mental health impact on individuals and families across the United States,” according to a statement from the Clara Lionel Foundation. “Even as the majority of states have begun lifting restrictions in recent days, millions of Americans continue to face daunting challenges when it comes to their health, mental, and economic well-being.”
The statement points out that “senior citizens, low-income families, and homeless individuals” are being particularly hard-hit by the pandemic and that “racial disparities are contributing to alarmingly disproportionate rates of infection and death among Black and Brown people.” In the announcement, Dorsey and Rihanna named a dozen organizations that would be getting financial assistance.
Dorsey has been making donations since the beginning of the pandemic. Before partnering with Rihanna, he donated $1 billion of his equity in Square to his LLC, Start Small. That money went to providing relief for victims of coronavirus, but Dorsey said that he would shift the focus of Start Small to girls’ health and education.
“They represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems” facing the world, he said at the time.
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