Funds will support the Oregon Food Bank, the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, and the Oregon Community Recovery Fund
HILLSBORO – The Intel Foundation announced that it is providing $4 million globally for coronavirus relief efforts, with $1 million from its global investments and other funds to support local communities in Oregon. Funds will be distributed to community foundations and organizations that are focused on food security, shelter, medical equipment, and small business support.
Intel also launched the Global Coronavirus Relief Matching Campaign for Intel employees and retirees. The Intel Foundation will match donations made by every full-time and part-time employee and U.S. retiree, up to $2 million. With employee and U.S. retiree contributions, they can donate to charitable organizations that will care for the communities where we live and work during this global pandemic. Intel is Oregon’s largest private employer, with over 21,000 employees.
The three Oregon charities that will benefit from this employee matching campaign are:
- Oregon Community Foundation’s Oregon Community Recovery Fund, which is deploying resources to organizations that can immediately put dollars to work helping Oregonians with basic needs such as rent, utility assistance, food and needed services.
- Oregon Food Bank, which is providing access to food for those at an increased risk of food insecurity during this crisis through its network of 21 regional food banks and 1,400 food assistance sites across Oregon and Clark County, Washington.
- United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, which uses its Community Safety Net Fund to help individuals and families meet their basic needs by providing critical services, including short-term housing assistance, utilities assistance, and access to food boxes and pantries.
These organizations are rapidly mobilizing to provide relief to community members, including our most vulnerable populations in Oregon.
These efforts build on previously announced support, including a donation of 1 million gloves, masks and other equipment to healthcare workers and a $1 million International Red Cross donation Intel committed to in January. Intel is also applying technology and expertise to help better understand and combat the virus. For example, Intel NUCs are helping in the coronavirus fight, and Intel and Lenovo have teamed up with Beijing-based BGI Genomics to accelerate the analysis of genomic characteristics of COVID-19.
In addition to the employee matching program, $1 million from Intel’s global investment and other funds will go to Oregon-based organizations. They are beginning to allocate contributions to organizations including:
- The Hillsboro Community Relief Fund, which was recently established to bring rent and utility assistance, as well as medical bill relief and meal assistance, to impacted populations in the city of Hillsboro.
- Free Geek, which provides digital access to some of our communities’ most vulnerable populations—the same people who are most adversely impacted by the spread of COVID-19. This includes K-12 students and college students, displaced workers, and aging populations. Intel has also put the call out to our employees to donate used technology to help Free Geek supply devices to those in need.
Intel also recently provided Microsoft® Surface Pro* tablets to the Oregon Department of Human Services to address the issue of isolation felt by older adults and others living in long-term care facilities undergoing visitor restrictions to reduce their exposure to COVID-19. These tablets will be used as a point of access for long-term-care-facility community members to communicate with their loved ones through telecommunications applications such as Skype and Google Hangouts.
We’re also happy to share that the first shipments of Intel-donated surgical masks left the Hillsboro facility. Intel is coordinating with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management and the Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management, which are working to distribute them to health-care facilities in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority and local county health departments.
Thank you to Intel for supporting our community and helping Oregon get through this together.
