Student and Female-Run Tech Nonprofit Launches Monthlong Campaign to Raise $100K for Frontline Essential Workers
SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 » PRESS RELEASE
Using a proprietary best-fit algorithm that matches essential workers with donors, the students behind the new tech non-profit have already pledged $1M in in-kind and cash donations, through a network of 200+ volunteers and 10,000+ donors, in all fifty states.
Hanover, New Hampshire — Today, Give Essential, a student-run, female-founded matching platform that connects frontline workers with essential resources, launched their initiative to turn Labor Day into Labor Month through a month-long social media and fundraising campaign. Since April, the students behind Give Essential have pledged $1M in in-kind and cash donations to essential workers and various community partners, such as women’s shelters and hospitals. Using a best-fit algorithm to match essential workers with donors and through a network of 200+ volunteers and 10,000+ donors, Give Essential has impacted essential workers in all 50 states.
“Even before the pandemic, essential workers have been the unsung heroes of our everyday lives,” comments Rine Uhm, co-founder of Give Essential. “It’s important to amplify their voices because they are vital to our communities. Labor Month serves to do exactly that.”
Give Essential’s mission is to provide support for essential workers, or people who work in industries deemed “essential” by a state government, such as food and agriculture, emergency services, and healthcare. There are over 50 million essential workers in the U.S. alone according to the Economic Policy Institute. Many of these workers lack basic household and hygiene items; these shortages have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. For example, when most mandatory mask mandates took effect, only 19% of essential workers cited that they were provided masks for their workday.
Showing appreciation and offering help to essential workers on the frontlines of the pandemic is more important than ever. Labor Month is a call to action for regional and national organizations, businesses, and individuals to give back to the people who save lives everyday, often without recognition.
Timeline for Give Essential’s Labor Day Month Campaign:
WEEK 1: Give Essential will feature female essential workers and female-dominated industry profiles with female influencer/celebrity Instagram takeovers, prize raffles, and gift auctions
WEEK 2: Give Essential will highlight essential workers in agricultural industries by hosting a Give Essential Bake-off, cooking with an influencer event, and the Baking with Give Essential challenge
Week 3: Give Essential will highlight healthcare workers, firefighters, truck drivers, and retail workers with Essential Workouts for Essential Workers (inviting fitness influencers and instructors to host fundraiser classes) and Running For The Frontline Virtual 5k & Half Marathon
Week 4: , Give Essential will celebrate all essential workers with a concert featuring “thank you” messages from celebrities, influencers, and community leaders, performances from student groups, essential worker stories and voices, and input from brand partners
To learn more about Give Essential’s Labor Day Month Campaign, visit giveessential.org/labormonth, or follow the Instagram buzz using #LaborMonth2k20 and follow us @GiveEssential.
About Give Essential: Give Essential is a student-run tech nonprofit that connects essential workers who need household items to donors who are able to support them. Give Essential is made up of a community of college students from across the country, 200+ volunteers, donors who have pledged over $1M in donations, and essential workers in all 50 states. Using a best-fit algorithm to match essential workers with donors, Give Essential has reached 10.3K donors and 10.6K workers. Give Essential has been featured on national media outlets such as CNN, ABC News, HuffPost, BBC, People, and Good Morning America
Contact:
Amy Guan Co-Founder and Director
pr@giveessential.org
