Jeremy Lin Pledges $1 Million for COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Efforts

Basketball star Jeremy Lin has pledged up to $1 million to help fight COVID-19 on Monday.

The 31-year-old former NBA athlete, who now plays in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), is set to donate $500,000 in the pandemic relief efforts.

Announcing his COVID-19 campaign called #BeTheLight, Lin posted a video on his Instagram account to ask for support from his followers and noted he is willing to match all donations for up to an additional $500,000.

“This is a tough time for everybody. We need to unite. We need everybody to be a part of the solution,” Lin said in the short clip.

In an interview with NextShark, Lin revealed that he will be donating $250,000 to nonprofit Feeding America and $250,000 to Direct Relief. The additional $500,000 in matching grants will go to Feeding America, Direct Relief and a few other organizations that he and his foundation are identifying now.

“I picked two amazing organizations that are actively working on COVID-19 responses,” Lin told NextShark. “I looked for organizations that have strong track records of working on some of the biggest needs that have arisen: Feeding America is addressing the huge numbers of people that will be at risk of experiencing hunger and Direct Relief is providing personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.”

This new batch of donations will be in addition to the $300,000 he donated last month. Back in March, Lin also donated $150,000 to Jeremy’s Foundation through his non-profit The Jeremy Lin Foundation and $150,000 to UNICEF.

While waiting for the CBA games to resume in May, Lin shared that he is still able to continue working out in the gym.

“I’ve been lucky to be able to continue my workout and training routine in Beijing,” he said. “I don’t take a moment of hooping for granted, especially when I think about how many people I care about are currently sheltering in place.”

Featured image via Jeremy Lin

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