Jeremy Lin Donates $300,000 to Help Fight COVID-19

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the former NBA star announced that he and his foundation in China have donated 1 million yuan ($143,000) to bring medical equipment to Wuhan — the epicenter of the pandemic — and an additional $150,000 to combat the novel coronavirus.

On Saturday, the 31-year-old Beijing Ducks star shared that he is donating $150,000 more to UNICEF USA for the same cause.

“Lets focus on what we can do in these challenging times. In our effort to battle this virus, I’m matching my $150,000 China foundation donation with an additional $150,000 contribution to @UNICEFUSA to help fight COVID-19 globally while partnering with governments,” Lin wrote. “This donation is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions affected by the closing of schools, missed paychecks, etc.”

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) — the pathogen responsible for COVID-19 — has so far infected 174,786 individuals worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks cases documented by the World Health Organization and other sources. The majority of the cases are concentrated in China (81,032), followed by Italy (27,980), Iran (14,991), Spain (9,428) and South Korea (8,236).

Meanwhile, the disease has killed a total of 7,057 people. Most (3,099) came from central China’s Hubei province — which houses the city of Wuhan — followed by Italy (2,158), Iran (853), Spain (335) and France (127).

 

Lin, who also acknowledged the racism and xenophobia that Asians face in the midst of the outbreak, encouraged others to join him in whatever capacity they can at www.unicefusa.org/jlin7.

“It doesn’t matter how much you donate or what you do, just encouraging everyone take one step to love someone in need,” he wrote. “Love melts hate. Light outshines darkness. Be a part of the change you wanna see. Stay together, much love.”

News of Lin’s donation has received more than 220,000 likes, with many commenting about their gratitude for his generosity.

“I so love your heart and the truth of this post. The things I’ve seen posted on social media and the things I’ve heard and been hearing people say about Asian people since the beginning of this outbreak has been ridiculous and heartbreaking,” one user commented. “I’ve been praying and will continue to pray through this.”

Feature Images via @jlin7