The Vertex Foundation Commits $5 Million to Support Global COVID-19 Pandemic Response
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 7, 2020--?Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated?(Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced that the?Vertex Foundation, a nonprofit charitable foundation, commits to make donations totaling?$5 million?in 2020 to support global COVID-19 relief efforts, including doubling its match for employees? charitable donations to eligible organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The?Vertex?Foundation?s funds will help organizations that are providing emergency relief and assistance in the global communities where?Vertex?employees live and work, with a focus on providing health care and supplies and support for vulnerable populations.
?The?Vertex?Foundation?s immediate priority is to address the unprecedented needs of our local communities resulting from COVID-19. We are focused on providing funding to organizations that can provide immediate access to health care and health supplies ? including testing and personal protective equipment ? in hard-hit countries, and those who are working on-the-ground to provide vulnerable populations with food, care and education,? said?Michael Parini,?Chairman of the Vertex Foundation?and Executive Vice President and Chief Legal, Administrative and Business Development Officer at?Vertex.
Essential Health Care?and?Health Supplies
The Vertex Foundation?today announced that it has committed?$1 million?to Direct Relief, an organization dedicated to providing essential supplies for health workers, such as critical personal protective equipment, N-95 masks, battery powered oxygen concentrators and ventilators. The Foundation?s donation will help establish Direct Relief?s European relief efforts, including in?UK,?Spain,?France?and?Germany, and help the organization expand its response in the?U.S.
?Direct Relief is deeply grateful to the?Vertex Foundation?for their generosity in supporting COVID-19 relief efforts in the?U.S.?and allowing us to ramp up our efforts in Europe,? said?Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO. ?Their significant commitment in this challenging time is greatly appreciated.?
In addition, the?Vertex Foundation?is also supporting the following organizations to help provide essential health care and health supplies:
- Partners HealthCare?in?Boston, to support an integrated COVID-19 response including delivering patient testing across the community and through donations of the company?s personal protective equipment;
- CDC?Foundation?s?Emergency Response Fund, to provide enhanced public health laboratory capacity, develop and deploy technology tools, and support state and local health departments;
- French?Red Cross?(Croix Rouge), to support on-the-ground front-line response and humanitarian relief efforts to enhance the government?s response in?France;
- Scripps Health Foundation?in?San Diego, to support their drive-through testing centers and fully fund one center for five weeks; and
- EMERGENCY Ong Onlus in?Italy, to provide medical care to the most vulnerable populations in the?Lombardy?region of?Italy, where the crisis is severe.
- The Trussell Trust?in the?UK, to support its nationwide network of food banks and provide emergency food and support needed because of COVID-19; to build on and support the development of a national helpline and referral system to enable food banks to meet increased demand for emergency food;
- Crisis in the?UK, to help with on-the-ground support for the homeless including ?essentials? packages of food, tissues and hand sanitizers;
- Age UK, to support older people, particularly those ages 70 and older, who are worst hit by the pandemic physically and emotionally;
- Caritas in?Spain, to provide home delivery of food to elderly and support homeless shelters and health needs in?Madrid;
- Les Restos du Coeur in?France, to support food distribution to the neediest and provide hygiene products to volunteers distributing the food;
- Cesvi in?Italy, to provide at-home health and food to the elderly in?Bergamo?and?Brescia;
- Feeding?San Diego, to provide healthy food through emergency food distribution centers and provide food to?San Diego?students who rely on free meals;
- Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, to support its?COVID-19 Response Fund?for the?Pioneer Valley;
- The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, to provide 400,000 meals for its emergency feeding programs across?Hampden,?Hampshire,?Berkshire?and?Franklin?counties; and
- United Way of Greater Fall River, to support its COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts across the Southcoast Massachusetts community.
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Investors: InvestorInfo@vrtx.com or 617-961-7163 Media: mediainfo@vrtx.com or U.S.: 617-341-6992 International: +44 20 3204 5275 Source:?Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated