Rihanna Donates $5 Million to Help Fight Spread of Coronavirus

Variety.com: Rihanna has joined the growing list of celebrities trying to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The singer’s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) has donated $5 million to several organizations around the world, particularly in marginalized communities in the United States, the Caribbean and in Africa, that are treating the sick and working to prevent the spread of the virus.

CLF’s funds are being distributed to Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and others.

“Never has it been more important or urgent to protect and prepare marginalized and underserved communities — those who will be hit hardest by this pandemic,” CLF executive director Justine Lucas said in a statement.

Funds will support local food banks serving at-risk communities and the elderly in the U.S., testing and care in Haiti and Malawi, the distribution of medical equipment, vaccine and therapy research and development, and healthcare training.

“CLF believes that one of the most powerful weapons we have against COVID-19 is preparedness,” the group said in statement. “Protecting our frontline health workers and marginalized communities around the world requires getting ahead of it fast, and the time to act is now.”

Rihanna founded CLF in 2012 in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, with the goal of working with community-based leaders and organizations supporting education and emergency response and preparedness across the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.