The development of the COVID-19 pandemic has spiraled to new heights unimaginable in just a few months. At the end of May, almost 43 million people across the nation have applied for unemployment as businesses close their doors. These closures have affected households that live paycheck to paycheck, making the unemployment rate surpass that of the Great Depression.
Growth record of unemployment claims in the United States
(Surpassing that of the Great Depression)
Such difficult times have also brought unprecedented stress toward many social welfare programs due to the exponential surge in demand. One of these social welfare programs are food banks. Feeding America is a non-profit organization that helps provide food to people affected by many situations and have food banks across the U.S.
States that have been hit the hardest, such as Texas, have experienced overwhelming demand for food assistance. During normal times, this Texas foodbank feeds 60,000 people in the region, but that number has since doubled, prompting thousands of cars to show up in queue.
At another foodbank in south Florida, hundreds of cars show up, increasing the demand for supplies, without a sure way to increase inventory.
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"When asked if these organizations have enough food, volunteers and money to keep the mega giveaway efforts going, ‘We really need all three. We’re struggling to keep up. Our inventories are going fast.’” Eric Cooper, CEO of San Antonio Foodbank – Daily Mail
The team at Vertagear are immensely grateful to be in a position that we are still able to operate. Many brick and mortar businesses and their employees are not as fortunate.
For this reason, we at Vertagear, want to do our part and help Feeding America and invite you to contribute along with us.
Our fellow Americans need the help now more than ever and here are two ways we can contribute:
1) Use our code: FEEDINGAMERICA
We will be running a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds for Feeding America. All Vertagear customers can use promo code FEEDINGAMERICA at the time of checkout for a $60 discount from each chair purchased. This $60 discount will be placed into our GoFundMe campaign which will be sent to FeedingAmerica.org. We will also include your name on our list of donators on our social media account which will be updated weekly, for this worthy cause.
2) Direct donations
No purchase is necessary, direction donation is available to our GoFundMe campaign here. All donations for the campaign will be deposited straight into the Feeding America account, meaning it will never go through Vertagear.
We thank you for your support for the Vertagear team during these years, we hope you will join our effort during these unstable times.
Thank you to all the healthcare professionals.
Thank you to all the frontline workers.
Thank you to the gaming community for staying strong.
Thank you for doing your part and helping.
- Vertagear Team