Fundraising Campaign Pairs Restaurants With Medical Workers Fighting Coronavirus
BOSTON (CBS) -- When the coronavirus crisis broke out, entrepreneur Woody Klemmer and two friends knew they wanted to help. They brainstormed ways they could support people who were out of work and people who would be called on to care for patients. What they came up with — in about 15 minutes — was a grass-roots fundraising effort called Fuel The Fight 2020.
It's simple. Donate money to buy food from local restaurants and they'll send it to medical workers.
They created a GoFundMe page and launched the effort in Philadelphia. People donated $1,000 on the first day. They'd raised two thousand dollars a day later. Within days, they had donations of $10,000 and happy hospital workers who had just received much-appreciated meals from a local restaurant.
"The responses were incredible. It makes you want to cry," said Klemmer who is now back in Greater-Boston with his family. "The restaurants are like 'you have no idea what this means to us.' The health care workers are like 'you have no idea what this means to us.' So we kind of just looked at ourselves and said 'alright, let's see how far we can take this thing."
Two weeks after launching Fuel The Fight 2020, the effort has spread to more than a dozen cities and raised nearly $300,000. Because of the model's simplicity—connect one person at a restaurant with one person at a hospital and let them arrange what's best for the hospital staff—it has been picked up by groups in Plymouth and Concord. Fuel the Fight Concord has raised more than $21,000 and has delivered meals to Emerson Hospital.
Klemmer marvels at the momentum but isn't surprised by the generosity. "People are good at helping people…and giving them a way to do that has been really powerful."
Klemmer's dad Greg launched Fuel the Fight Boston. It's first delivery, to Dorchester's Carney Hospital, came from Monument Restaurant & Tavern in Charlestown. Owner Jon Sweeney said his staff was grateful for the chance to serve hospital workers. With only take-out and delivery customers, knowing that the doctors and nurses would enjoy meals from their kitchen gave them a special sense of pride.
At a time when restaurants have taken an enormous hit, Sweeney is also grateful for the business. "We're so used to being the ones delivering hospitality to people. Now we find ourselves in the unusual and unfortunate position of receiving hospitality from the neighborhood and from groups like 'Fuel the Fight' so it's been really uplifting for our entire staff," he said.
To donate to Fuel the Fight Boston, visit their GoFundMe page.
