The coronavirus pandemic has touched the lives of nearly everyone on the planet, but the financial, physical and mental suffering is not evenly spread. For those of us not on the front lines caring for patients, many anxiously seek other ways to ease the hardships of the individuals, families and organizations most severely affected by this crisis. Through companies like DTCC, employees are finding and creating multiple ways to channel their help and support. Here is a round-up of COVID-19 relief initiatives at DTCC offices around the world.
Emergency COVID-19 Relief
DTCC has made corporate gifts for COVID-19 relief to local and global organizations, distributed as follows:
- $30,000 to JCEDC for the Jersey City COVID-19 Community Relief Fund.
- $10,000 of support to food banks: Community Food Bank of NJ, Feeding Tampa Bay, and North Texas Food Bank.
- $5,000 to local/municipal COVID-19 Relief Funds: Hudson County Chamber Foundation, City of Boston, City of Tampa, Tamil Nadu Relief Fund (Chennai India).
- $5,000 to United Way Suncoast and United Way New York City.
- $5,000 to education: Pencil, Lewisville ISD Education Foundation (Dallas) and others.
- $5,000 to Nightingale House Hospice, Give2Asia and World Vision Philippines.
These gifts are amplified by DTCC’s Employee Matching Fund. As of April 30, more than $174,000 in combined employee and corporate matching funds have been pledged for COVID-19 relief.
Lifeline Support for Community Organizations
The pandemic has simultaneously boosted demand for many local charities’ services and reduced their income-generating opportunities. Employees in local DTCC offices have responded by renewing or initiating support of community organizations serving local populations in need.
Although the flower display at a local National Trust property will be delayed due to the UK lockdown, DTCC’s Wrexham employees for the second year in a row are co-sponsoring, along with Excell Supply Limited, the Sunshine Meadow effort of the city’s Nightingale House Hospice. In its 2020 campaign Nightingale is selling 1,200 specially designed everlasting Welsh poppies custom-made by the British Ironworks Centre. People are encouraged to purchase poppies to celebrate life, honor a loved one or simply recognize the hundreds of people cared for at Nightingale over the past 25 years. Support of the hospice is especially needed this year since the pandemic has cancelled or postponed the organization’s other fundraising events and forced the closure of its shops and cafes. Sponsorship of Sunshine Meadow comes on top of DTCC Wrexham’s financial and volunteer support of Nightingale’s palliative care unit.
Wrexham staff also elected to continue supporting local mental health charity Advance Brighter Futures (ABF) with a £500 donation in April.
Employees at DTCC Manila stepped up with a gift of 114,000PHP (2,240 USD) to World Vision Philippines, which works to improve the lives of children in poverty-stricken communities. Their donation will aid 4,500 families, 100 health facilities and 100 health care centers.
Virtual Food Drive
DTCC Dallas employees have been running a virtual food drive to help with much needed food for North Texas Food Bank. The drive will continue during the month of May. Over 100 employees have contributed over $8000. Employee funds will be matched by DTCC.
Telephones for Hospital Workers
Working with one of its telecommunications vendors, Highpoint Solutions, DTCC responded to an urgent need for telephone equipment at the temporary COVID-19 hospital established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at New York City’s Javits Convention Center. After making an initial donation of 60 phones, DTCC staff collected additional equipment from the Jersey City office and loaded it onto a truck for delivery to Javits. The more than 150 telephones DTCC sent to the temporary hospital were used by the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers throughout the massive space to stay in contact about patient progress.
Worldwide N95 Mask Donations
DTCC’s Business Continuity and Resilience (BC&R) and Global Security Management (GSM) teams inventoried the company’s personal protective equipment (PPE) and determined a supply of 8,040 N95 masks could be donated globally for use by local healthcare workers and first responders.
A large portion of these masks had been previously shipped to the APAC region to assist with the fallout from the volcanic eruption near Manila in January. The remainder were distributed to other DTCC locations and the Regional Administrative.
Managers at each site tasked with determining the local recipients based on their knowledge of local needs. Global mask donations were made as follows:
- DTCC Manila: 3,000 N95 masks to the Philippine General Hospital
- DTCC Chennai: Chengalpattu Medical College and the Chennai Police
- DTCC Wrexham: Wrexham Maelor Hospital
- DTCC London: Chadwell House Residential Care
- DTCC Tampa: Tampa General Hospital
- DTCC Jersey City: Jersey City Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management
- DTCC Boston: Medical Intelligence Center for distribution to health care workers and first responders
- DTCC Washington, DC: Washington, DC Police District 6 police station
- DTCC Brooklyn: New York University Langone Hospital
- DTCC Dallas: Coppell Police and Fire Departments
DTCC employees help with food sorting and distribution at Feeding Tampa Bay.
Hygiene Kits for Manila First Responders
Prior to the lockdown, the Manila Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team was able to repack essential items in 150 hygiene kits, which DTCC Manila then distributed to Philippine frontliners. The kits, which include bath soap, toothbrushes, toothpastes, alcohol, tissue, deodorant, razor, laundry bar, sanitary napkins, baby diapers, shampoo and conditioner, were given to Pasig General Hospital, Bernardo Maintenance Services, Tamaraw Security Services Inc., Barangay Poblacion, and V-Corporate Building Security.
Employee Volunteer Outreach
Throughout the pandemic DTCC employees have donated their time to support local nonprofits that serve an array of needs in their communities. At DTCC Tampa, employees and their family members volunteered alongside Tampa Mayor Jane Castor at Feeding Tampa Bay’s mass food distributions throughout the month or April. Our employees helped distribute more than 8,610 grocery packages. Many employees have pledged to continue to volunteer at Feeding Tampa Bay’s mass food distributions throughout the month of May.
Tampa staff in April also participated in the local Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night program by contributing photos or videos of short inspirational messages along with signs reading, “Stay strong, DTCC Cares! #StayingHomeForLLS”. The video is now posted LinkedIn. With cancer patients especially vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, these messages have been especially welcome by cancer patients and their families.