Rachael Ray Is Donating $4 Million to Coronavirus Relief Efforts Through Her Charities
Rachael Ray has officially joined efforts to help offset the repercussions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The celebrity chef and talk show host announced on Tuesday that she is donating $4 million to COVID-19 relief efforts through her two charities, The Rachael Ray Foundation and Yum-o!.
Her show’s staff revealed the donation in an article on their website and explained that the money will be allocated to a group of existing, previously vetted organizations. According to the post, the donations are “earmarked” to help fund critically necessary food and services through a network of organizations across the country.
As such, the $2 million of Yum-o! aligned donations will focus on feeding and nutritional programs like Feeding America and World Central Kitchen, while the $2 million from The Rachael Ray Foundation will support care animal welfare programs including Best Friends Animal Society and Big Dog Ranch.
@rachaelray announced $4 million donation for coronavirus relief 💖💖 Read more at the link in our bio
A post shared by Rachael Ray Show (@rachaelrayshow) on Apr 7, 2020 at 11:12am PDT
“My overall goal with these donations is to support American families affected during the COVID-19 crisis with assistance for two-legged and four-legged family members,” Ray said in the article. “We felt it was important to help offset the decline in donations organizations have experienced, from a combination of the cancelation of fundraising events and reduced private donations.”
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The Yum-o! organization typically works to cook, feed and fund, and educate kids and their families about food and cooking. Their donation will thus be divided among the organizations Feeding America, Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen, The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, City Harvest, Hunger Free America, Wholesome Wave, and ReThink Food.
On the other hand, the donation from The Rachael Ray Foundation — a private organization fully funded by proceeds from the sale of Ray’s natural pet food line Nutrish — will go toward supporting the animal welfare groups North Shore Animal League, Best Friends Animal Society, Austin Pets Alive, Big Dog Ranch, San Antonio Pets Alive, and Lost Our Home Rescue.
Furthermore, since Best Friends Animal Society is one of The Foundation’s most trusted, longstanding animal welfare partners, they will manage and distribute an additional donation between $25,000 and $50,000 to local and regional organizations.
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“We have been at this for a decade, and I never wanted to ask people to donate to the philanthropies I personally care about,” Ray continued, “so we have always directed portions of the proceeds from the sale of many of our products — from pet food to pots and pans — to charitable giving.”
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