Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donate $1 million to North American food banks
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have joined the growing list of celebrities who are chipping in to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Reynolds took to Twitter on Monday to announce that he and his wife are donating $1 million to food banks in North America.
"Covid-19 has brutally impacted older adults and low income families," the "Deadpool" actor wrote. "Blake and I are donating $1 million to be split between FEEDING AMERICA and FOOD BANKS CANADA."
"If you can give, these orgs need our help," he continued.
Despite the gravity of the situation, the actor tried to lift spirits by ending his post with a joke. "(Hugh Jackman's # is 1-555-😢-HUGH)," he wrote.
Other celebrities and organizations have also made substantial donations to food banks across the country. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife, Chicago Red Stars' Kealia Ohai, donated $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank, in order to aid relief efforts, according to CBS affiliate KHOU-TV.
After closing its parks, Disneyland decided to donate all excess foods from its resorts in California to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.
Donatella Versace and her daughter have also opened their wallets to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in Italy, which has the largest outbreak of the deadly coronavirus outside of China. The luxury fashion mogul took to Instagram on Friday to share that she and her daughter Allegra have donated 200,000 euros to the intensive care unit of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.
"In times like this, it is important to be united and support however we can to help all those who are in the front lines, fighting every day to save hundreds of lives," the fashion designer wrote.
"Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this disease and to all the doctors and medical staff who have been working heroically non-stop in the past weeks in the effort to take care of our loved ones," she said.
Among the many stars who are giving back during this time of need are Justin Timberlake and Vanessa Hudgens, who both donated to Feeding America. Timberlake shared the news that he donated to Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis, Tennessee, an organization that is part of Feeding America.
Basketball stars Zion Williamson and Kevin Love also made a difference in their communities. After the NBA suspended the season for at least 30 days, Williamson announced that he will pay the salaries of all of the employees of Smoothie King Center, the home arena of the New Orleans Pelicans. Love is donating $100,000 to help Cleveland Cavaliers arena workers.
And last month, Justin Bieber announced on Instagram that he had made a donation to the Beijing Chunmiao Charity Foundation to aid efforts in China.
