Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation donates $5M to coronavirus relief efforts

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, announced Friday that the singer would also give approximately $700K worth of ventilators to her home country of Barbados to help combat against coronavirus

Stephanie Guerilus

Mar 21, 2020

Rihanna‘s nonprofit organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, announced Saturday that it is donating $5 million toward coronavirus response efforts on a global scale.

Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund are some of the organizations that will benefit from the generous donation. The aid will directly impact those in underserved communities in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa.

It will help to provide funding for headgear that hospital workers and first aid respondents can utilize. Food banks that serve the elderly and distributing respiratory supplies will also be a priority.

“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,” said Justine Lucas, Executive Director of the Clara Lionel Foundation, in a statement.

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The donation by Clara Lionel Foundation, started in 2012 and named after her grandparents, is the second such response initiated by the Bajan superstar. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, announced Friday that the 32-year-old singer would give approximately $700K worth of ventilators to her home country of Barbados to help combat against coronavirus according to Caribbean Nation Weekly.

Two cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed on the island. One person is reported to be in a male in their 20’s and the other is a woman in her 60’s. Both recently returned to the country after traveling to the United States.

Rihanna was born in Saint Michael and has never forgotten her roots. In 2018, she was appointed the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Barbados, a position that is responsible for promoting education, tourism, and investment for the island.

Philanthropy has become a hallmark of the mogul’s career. Last month, she told the audience at the NAACP Image Awards that it was the duty of everyone to get involved as she accepted the 2020 President’s Award.

“It’s not bigger than us together, but it’s bigger than me, because my part is a very small part of the work that is being done in this world and the work that is yet to be done,” she said.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that we can only fix this world together. We can’t do it divided. I can not emphasize that enough.”