When we added face mask covers to our catalog, we knew we wanted to donate proceeds from this product to a charitable organization. Our initial intent was to donate to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Response Fund, but with the immense popularity of the product, we felt we were in a unique position to give to local organizations that are near and dear to our globally distributed team, as well.
In addition to giving to WHO’s Response Fund and sending N95 masks to New York City’s Weill Cornell hospital, we also donated to 14 additional organizations around the world that are making a huge impact on their local communities.
We want to whole-heartedly thank these organizations for doing the work they are doing, and we also want to thank our partners for making this product such a success that we were able to spread a little good into the world. Ultimately, you gave us the ability to support these organizations in need, and that means so much.
You can read about the organizations we gave to below, and visit their websites to learn more!
“The objective of the organization is to provide children with access to quality education and make them capable individuals who can further go on to live dignified lives in their communities,” says CYF founder Haushala Thapa.
Gooten’s donation will help CYF specifically with raw food support like rice, lentils and biscuits, and 5% of the donation will go towards virtual classes in the school. This will allow for increased internet speed in their school which will help students learn from online portals.
“Gooten’s gift is incredibly helpful for us during these challenging times … [with] the local economy experiencing such uncertainty, it has been harder than ever to make sure we have food on the table for our kids for the months to come,” says Amanda Brown, CYF’s USA President.
Brown added, with the help Gooten gave, they are now much better equipped to ensure that they can sustainably provide for their campus — which includes students, several of their mothers, and residential staff.
Thank you for the incredible work your organization does, CYF!
C&B owner Ali Sahin’s friends joked that as the pandemic hit, his restaurant would be the last one standing in New York City’s East Village.
“A few weeks later, and that’s pretty much the case,” says Sahin on C&B’s gofundme page, “I’ve got good people that rely on me for their income, and I couldn’t do what most businesses have done—close and send their people home with no means to pay for food or rent.”
Sahin’s dedication to his staff and serving the community led him to start making free lunches for other unemployed New York City restaurant workers. These workers can come in as normal and order anything on their regular menu. Not only that, but C&B has also been feeding 40 people every Wednesday evening with Graffiti Church located down the block from C&B, sent food to two local shelters, collaborated with Queens-based group Hungry Monk and make around 500 meals every Monday.
In these efforts, it quickly became apparent C&B would need a new oven to sustain the amount of bread they are making daily and support their staff. Gooten’s donation was able to substantially contribute to the purchase of a new oven for C&B so Sahin and his staff can continue their hard work to support feeding the community.
Center “Srce” (meaning “heart” in Serbian) is an organization that focuses on suicide prevention and providing emotional support via phone, email, or live chat.
Annually, around 1,000 people die due to suicide in Serbia, with it being the second largest cause of death for people aged 18-25. For these reasons, volunteers of the “Srce” organization are there to provide support, comfort, and resources for people in need.
The volunteers of this organization also educate students and staff in high schools and universities on how they can provide emotional support with suicide prevention as their goal.
Gooten’s donation will allow them do just that — organize lectures in at least 10 high schools in Serbia with the possibility of sharing pamphlets and educational materials, as well.
“Kolevka” was opened in 1920, and since then, over 10,000 children ages 0-26 have gotten the help they need there. The center operates 24/7, with over 150 employees taking care of the children, including, but not limited to, pediatricians, cardiologists, child therapists and psychiatrists, and dentists.
This organization also provides counseling to parents, housing counseling and counseling for pregnant women and mothers with young children, as well as housing and care for young refugees without parental support.
“Kolevka” currently needs help with four big projects they are focusing on in order to improve the living and counseling conditions these children need: The reconstruction of the existing housing for children with disabilities, building two new housing spaces, the reconstruction of the current plumbing system, and obtaining new vehicles.
Gooten’s donation went towards contributing to their efforts in improving the infrastructure of the center and the children who need it.
We also donated to:
Budimo Ljudi in Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Sister Carmen Community Center in Lafayette, Colorado
Alzheimer Society of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland
Child HELP Partnership – NYC Children’s Grief Connection in New York City, New York
Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids in Calgary, Canada
The Children’s Aid Society in New York City, New York
Nurdor in Belgrade, Novi Sad & Nis, Serbia
Fundacion Bahia y Ecosistemas de Colombia in Cartagena, Columbia
Kharkiv Rehabilitation Centre ‘Pravo vibora’ in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Ballard Food Bank in Seattle, Washington
