Despite the widespread impact of COVID-19, business leaders around the globe have made the decision to use their companies’ resources to help others. There are countless stories of corporate selflessness, from a manufacturer that completely redirected its processes to make protective face shields to a teledentistry platform that expanded its services to help more U.S. dentists meet with patients virtually.
As the effects of the outbreak evolve, here are some of the most creative initiatives from NetSuite users across industries.
Apparel, footwear and accessories
Dippin’ Daisy’s
As the coronavirus made much-needed personal protective equipment scarce, the swimwear retailer repurposed its LA factories to produce and donate more than 5,000 fabric masks to those in the medical field facing shortages. Additionally, when customers buy a mask, the brand donates another to a first responder.
American Giant
American Giant, a San Francisco-based apparel and activewear brand known for its cozy sweatshirts, used its facilities and team to make medical-grade masks and distribute them to front-line medical personnel. Masks are also sold on its ecommerce site.
Howler Brothers
The menswear brand based in Austin, Texas had a special capsule collection in the works prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Howler Brothers expedited the collection’s launch date and is donating a portion of proceeds to two Austin-specific relief funds: the Austin Community Foundation and the Austin Relief Fund at the Southern Smoke Foundation.
Thursday Boot Co.
Thursday Boot Co. switched up its manufacturing operations to make and donate needed HK-19 polypropylene masks instead of boots. The company produced about 2,000 masks per day, with a goal of donating at least 14,000 to healthcare workers. It also donated nearly $150,000 from a recent warehouse sale to nonprofit organization Direct Relief.
Topo Designs
The Denver-based maker of backpacks, bags and apparel partnered with the State of Colorado and the Colorado Mask Project to manufacture masks for vulnerable populations and essential workers. The company committed to donating 10,000 masks and is selling masks directly to consumers via its ecommerce site.
Advertising, Media and Publishing
T3 Expo
T3 Expo is a general contractor for live events. Within the first week of the nation declaring a pandemic, the company shifted its strategy to focus on turning New York City’s Javits Center into a hospital, building out hospital rooms for those fighting COVID-19. The company has continued its efforts by building and distributing hospital beds for other facilities in need. Furthermore, as an industry partner, T3 facilitated conversations to help communities and companies leverage resources to assist them during the crisis.
Food and beverage
Skout Organic
The maker of protein bars asked its customers for help identifying nonprofit organizations “that could benefit from a healthy snack.” Skout Organic donated care packages of its bars to nonprofits affected by or fighting against COVID-19.
Zaxby’s
The chain of fast casual restaurants introduced a Family Pak meal that feeds four customers for $25. Zaxby’s also provided 15,000 meals to healthcare workers at over 40 hospitals in its native Georgia.
SnackNation
SnackNation, the healthy snack delivery service, partnered with telemedicine startup GoodRx to donate 100,000 snacks to healthcare workers across the country. Customers could nominate themselves or a friend to receive a free box of 150 snacks.
Manufacturing
Bedford Industries
Bedford Industries (opens in new tab) is the nation’s leading manufacturer of twist ties and other bendable components like marketing tags and nose wires — the latter of which sparked the idea to build a product that could keep people safe from COVID-19. The company repurposed a number of its manufacturing lines to produce over 100,000 plastic face shields in less than a week. The Elastishield is a full face shield intended to conserve N95 respirators and other types of face masks. Bedford saw such high demand for the Elastishield that it partnered with NetSuite to build out its first-ever ecommerce platform and, in the first week, sold nearly 13,000 shields.
Bella Tunno
Bella Tunno makes “modern baby products” — think stylish bibs, sleek dining plates and more — with a mission of ending child hunger. To celebrate its 15th birthday, which coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak, the company is donating 15 meals for every bib purchased from its anniversary collection. The company also donated $10,000 to Feeding America’s COVID-19 fund.
Bombas
As COVID-19 broke out, Bombas activated its large customer base, asking folks to get in touch if they had an excess of cleaning and personal care products like hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. The company then donated these items to homeless individuals.
Danby Appliance
Danby Appliance is working to manufacture ventilators, devoting most of its engineers and designers to the cause as part of Ventilators for Canadians, a consortium of manufacturers co-founded by Danby CEO Jim Estill.
Institute of Occupational Medicine
The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) carries out research to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders and help folks work healthier. In response to COVID-19, the organization published a guide to its available resources for company leaders, including information on how to schedule a training for workers about how to properly fit face masks.
SmileDirectClub
SmileDirectClub is a direct-to-consumer teledentistry platform, helping people straighten their teeth through clear aligner therapy. Amid COVID-19 closures and social distancing, SmileDirectClub extended its services (opens in new tab) by sharing its platform with all licensed dentists and orthodontists nationwide, enabling them to continue seeing patients virtually. The company also utilized its 3D printing capabilities to create and distribute complimentary medical-grade face shields--up to 10,000 per day--to doctors and nurses on the front lines and those in oral care who had to perform emergency procedures despite COVID-19.
Nonprofit
Kiva
Kiva (opens in new tab) is a nonprofit expanding financial access to help underserved communities thrive. With COVID-19 weighing heavily on small businesses, the organization saw a 10x spike in demand for its capital in the United States alone. As a global organization working in over 80 countries, Kiva understood how economic changes can impact international communities, and thus, it expanded its loan services (opens in new tab) beyond the normal scope. Currently, more U.S. businesses are eligible for its zero-interest loan offering, the maximum of which is now $15,000 vs. the usual $10,000.
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The organization launched its own COVID-19 Patient Financial Aid Program to provide immediate relief to patients who need support. The relief takes the form of a one-time $250 stipend per patient to help with non-medical expenses, such as food, housing, utilities and transportation. Patients do not need to have a COVID-19 diagnosis, and there are no income criteria to qualify.
Make-A-Wish America
Make-A-Wish America saw more than 900 wishes postponed due to COVID-19. With the help of Ryan Reynolds, the organization launched "Messages of Hope" to give people a way to send a message of encouragement to these kids waiting for their wishes to come true. Social media users — both celebrities and not — shared videos, photos, songs and dances.
Retail
Dog is Good
Every dog owner knows the blissful feeling of being greeted by their furry best friend. It’s that feeling that Dog is Good (opens in new tab) was built on. The company is making a difference by giving back to pet and veteran organizations and is creating branded face masks that allow dog lovers to display their affection while staying safe.
Boll & Branch
Bedding brand Boll & Branch is committed to helping hospitals who desperately need assistance. The company has partnered with U.S.-based mattress and pillow manufacturers Sherwood and Downlite to not only produce needed bedding but also keep workers employed. It is donating 1,000 mattresses and 5,000 pillows to hospitals and emergency operations in New York while offering a 10% off discount code to help fund the project.
Wholesale distribution
Mats Inc.
Mats Inc. produces commercial flooring for a variety of business needs and is now offering “Safe Distance” matting runners. As business shoppers, visitors and building occupants adjust to social distancing, the mat helps them feel more confident that those around them are keeping a safe distance in lobbies, checkout lines or public places in general. The mats ensure people know exactly where to stand in order to stay six feet apart.
Harper + Scott
Harper + Scott is a New York- based design and sourcing studio that is committed to keeping its employees, customers, vendors and their families safe. As such, it is producing safety items including hand sanitizer, soap, masks and wipes and distributing them via an order form on its website.
Services
Jvion
Jvion, a healthcare AI company, launched a free map that helps healthcare leaders localize vulnerable populations and identify factors that influence that risk -- helping them better allocate resources as COVID-19 hits communities. By using the map’s data, health systems can more adequately plan for utilization of their resources, deploy preventive or mitigating care and anticipate the short-, mid- and long-term impacts of public health decisions, such as school and business closures.
Opportunity Fund
In ordinary times, Opportunity Fund provides microloans to low- and moderate-income immigrants, women and other deserving but underserved small business owners. In the time of COVID-19, the organization launched a special Small Business Relief Fund to provide an extra boost to small business owners.
CentralReach
Clinicians caring for people with autism face a risk to recertification due to COVID-19. CentralReach, a practice management software for the developmental disabilities sector, made its entire digital library of resources free to help clinicians stay certified despite the interruption.
Therabody
Therabody (opens in new tab)’s devices provide a deep muscle massage treatment that allows users to feel and move better via tension and soreness relief. In addition to offering up to $150 off for U.S. customers, the company is donating 100 meals to Feeding America for each device sold, helping deliver food to people that need it most.
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