As we enter into day 14 of the South African lockdown and the Easter weekend, we are encourage to see how people and organisations are joining forces while being physically distanced to combat the impact of COVID-19.

Through collaborative efforts, our nation, its people and organisations have united by offering to assist in confronting this current crisis, and the Solidarity Fund is a vehicle that has been established to facilitate these honourable and selfless efforts.

Our partner, Barker Insurance, recently announced “In our constant endeavour to uphold our fundamental values of humility, care, integrity, authenticity and loyalty, Barker has contributed an initial R150 000 to the Solidarity Fund.” Read the full announcement here.

EasyEquities has also contributed directly to the fund and have enabled a donate for good feature on their platform to allow investors an easy way to contribute to the fund. Read more here.

Young individuals too are contributing to the fund and using social media as a mechanism to encourage others to join the cause. Robbie Ball, a friend of our associate Josh Nuttall, started a challenge that encouraged South Africans to do their part and contribute.

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After 6 months of no activity, my second Instagram post in 2 days might be a bit ballsy but what the heck, so was drop kicking for goal in extra time of a RWC final, and look how that turned out… 21 days (at least…) of being locked down at home is pretty average. I’ll miss socialising with friends and other family, I’ll miss going on runs or taking my dogs for a walk, but what I’ll miss most is driving in the Sabi Sands training to be a game ranger (what I was doing 6 days ago). The fact is that my lockdown situation is a lot more comfortable than most people’s in our country. This post is to raise awareness for those who don’t have the luxury of internet to keep themselves entertained, or a fridge full of food to feed their families. SA’s sovereign credit rating got downgraded to junk status by Moody’s on Friday, a major L for the economy, and and the reality is that the country’s wounds are going to take longer than 3 weeks to heal. I’d like to take a page out of @mikeyiswright book and use social media to raise funds and awareness. For every like that this post gets, I will donate R1 towards the Solidarity fund. This fund was set up to help prevent and detect the virus, care for those in hospital/medical care, and support those whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic. For more info on the fund visit https://www.solidarityfund.co.za . If, somehow, this post gets more likes than my student achiever’s bank account allows, I will fundraise and find a way to meet my obligation. So please feel free to share and be generous with the ❤️ button. After listening to our president address the nation on Monday night and subsequently replaying the 2019 RWC final twice a day since, I’m feeling incredibly patriotic and believe that we can beat this thing, but only if we come to the party together (not literally), in some way or another. I’d therefore like to pass the baton onto @ashdonaldson02 and the influencer himself @jamie_battersby . Post a photo of what you are most grateful for during the lockdown, add your 2 cents and help build some momentum towards fighting this thing together by raising funds for a cause of your choice 🇿🇦💰

A post shared by Robbie Ball (@robbie_ball) on Mar 29, 2020 at 12:51am PDT

The Solidarity Fund enables individuals and organisations to support efforts that are being established to address the impact of COVID-19 through secure, tax-deductible donations. The fund operates with the highest principles of corporate governance and has an independent Board. All activities will be reported in a transparent manner.

The scale of the impact COVID-19 will have on the global economy is yet to be fully determined and only time will tell just how the future will unfold. Small acts, donations, and contributions together can make a big difference. Together we can unite and play our part in combatting COVID-19.

Stay safe and keep positive during this time. We are #InThisTogether