THROWING its weight behind the war against the latest and deadliest virus threat, Japan’s Sony Corporation has announced the US$100mil Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19, in support of those affected by the disease.
According to the company, the fund is to provide support in three areas: assistance for individuals engaged in frontline medical and first responder efforts to fight the virus; support for children and educators who must now work remotely; and support for members of the creative community in the entertainment industry, which has been greatly impacted by the spread of the virus.
“Sony extends its condolences to the families of those who have passed away as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and extends its sympathies to all those who have been impacted.
“In order to overcome the unprecedented challenges that as a society we now face around the world, we will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in the creative community,” said Sony Corp president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
The Sony press release adds:
In terms of medical support, US$10mil of the fund will be devoted first to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO powered by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist medical workers and others on the frontline of response efforts to the virus.
Sony will also work with its external partners to explore ways that it can support activities that prevent the further spread and contribute to treatment of the COVID-19 virus.
In the area of education, where children, who represent the next generation, are losing education opportunities as a result of school closures, Sony will explore ways to leverage its technologies in support of education activities, and cooperate with educators to implement these measures.
Furthermore, in terms of the creative community such as music, pictures, games and animation, together with its group companies engaged in the entertainment industry, Sony will seek ways to support up-and-coming creators, artists and all those in professions supporting the industry who have been impacted by the cancellation or postponement of concerts and live events, or the shutting down of film and television productions.
Sony also announced that employees will be able to provide their support through a matching gift program that is scheduled to be offered to its approximately 110,000 employees worldwide.
The company will work together with its partners and stakeholders to explore ways to further extend these initiatives.
Some one million people have been stricken by the COVID-19 virus, which has also claimed more than 54,000 lives across the world.
The creative community? How are they more impacted than others?
This is a self-serving move on Sony’s part. Instead of helping Sony’s actual customers who’ve made Sony what it is, they now seek to assist those who provide the media, which Sony will then sell to further fill its coffers.
Where are the media ‘celebrities’? Producers? Directors? Multi-millionaires all, where are they in helping the “creative community”? Hollywood and the music industry’s upper crust could easily fund a multi hundred million dollar effort. That, as a group they don’t… speaks volumes. And don’t forget the major news anchors… they pretend to care but when push comes to shove they’re nowhere to be found.