100 Day Challenge: Week 8
It has been 2 months since the World Health Organization declared covid-19 a global pandemic, and countries worldwide shut down. While almost all industries have been affected by the pandemic, some are hit much harder than others such as the hospitality, entertainment, and fashion industry. It is inspiring to see how businesses are showing great resilience and how organizations are finding ways to help their eco- system.
I am glad to share with you some stories from around the globe. I publish daily on my blog 100 day challenge and I’m sending you a weekly summary. By clicking on the underlined text, you can read the full story.
Hotels worldwide are finding creative ways to get through this crisis. At Hotel Escaya, a wonderful boutique hotel in Medellin, you can buy a gift card on their website now for your future travel. Hotel LondonHouse in Chicago is offering bonds that people can buy in 100 USD increments. Once those bonds mature after 60 days, they are worth 150 USD.
GreenlifePro from Belgium, a water purifier manufacturer, is supporting bars and restaurants by offering a discount on installation and a free subscription for 2 months. It enables bars and restaurants to start saving money from day one.
Publix, an American supermarket chain, is purchasing excess produce and milk from farmers and donating it to Feeding America food banks. It is a great help for food suppliers who have lost their usual buyers amid closures of schools, restaurants, and hotels.
Belgapom, the potato association of Belgium, has started a similar initiative. As they fear that 750,000 tons of potatoes could go to waste, they announced that they will supply 25 tons of potatoes every week to food banks. They are also calling on consumers in the country to eat fries twice a week, a ludic initiative to help the potato industry.
The French fashion industry is coming together for a fashion auction, to raise money for non-profit organization #ProtegeTonSoignant (protect your caregiver), which sources and distributes supplies to French healthcare workers. La Mode S’Engage, has so far confirmed the participation of more than 80 brands, including Chanel, Celine, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
Tisvanier (literally translated: it is from here), is a platform that gives visibility to local businesses and restaurants and encourages customers to buy locally. It is a great platform to boost the local economy.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are donating 800.000 USD to their 8 favorite local restaurants. The money is for whatever the restaurants need: payroll, rent or even free meals for health care workers and first responders. Not only is a donation of 100.000 USD a huge boost to help weather the pandemic, it is also a fantastic promotion for a restaurant to count the Zuckerbergs among your clients.