Project HOPE Teams Up with Ricky Martin and CharityStars to Support Health Workers

MILLWOOD, VA (March 23, 2020) – Project HOPE has teamed up with global superstar Ricky Martin and the groundbreaking fundraising platform CharityStars for the #HelpfromHome campaign, which is raising funds to support healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and in at-risk countries.

“Since the outbreak began in January, our response teams have been working to provide protective gear and other support to the health workers who are tirelessly working to treat patients and stop the spread of this virus,” said Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE. “We’re proud to have teamed up with Ricky Martin and CharityStars to raise funds for our worldwide coronavirus response effort. Healthcare workers are risking their lives to save lives every day, and they need our support now more than ever.”

“Our healthcare professionals are extremely vulnerable right now. They do not have enough gloves, gowns, or protective masks at hospitals, urgent care or doctors’ offices. This is unacceptable,” said Ricky Martin. “I knew in my heart I had to find a way to help them, and teaming up with Project HOPE and CharityStars will allow me, along with everyone else, to contribute and help these medical workers worldwide. All of our lives may depend on them, and their lives may depend on us.”

“Our platform has helped raise nearly $1.5 million to date to help the coronavirus response in Italy, and we are glad to be expanding this effort to help doctors and nurses worldwide,” said Domenico Gravagno, CEO & Co-founder of CharityStars. “This partnership with Ricky Martin and Project HOPE will help vulnerable healthcare workers and save countless lives, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

To join the #HelpfromHome campaign, visit charitystars.com/helpfromhome. Every donation, minus a maximum 2 percent credit card transaction fee, will go directly to Project HOPE’s coronavirus response effort.

Project HOPE has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic since the outbreak began, when Project HOPE’s team on the ground in China began providing critical support and equipment to frontline health workers treating patients and working to contain the virus. To date, Project HOPE has delivered nearly 5 million facemasks as well as isolation gowns, protective coveralls, exam gloves, and other protective gear to hospitals that have screened and treated thousands of patients in China. Project HOPE is now working to provide personal protective gear to health workers in the United States and around the world.

As the virus spread and became a global pandemic, Project HOPE began preparing to provide vital training and other support for health workers in high-risk countries like North Macedonia, Kosovo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Colombia. In Puerto Rico – which is still reeling in the wake of Hurricane Maria as well as the earthquakes earlier this year – Project HOPE is working with partners on the ground to support response efforts where health facilities remain stretched.

For more information on Project HOPE’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, visit www.projecthope.org.