Rihanna, Jay-Z and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Donate $6.2 Million For More COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Robyn Rihanna Fenty and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter have teamed up again to donate to coronavirus relief and they brought along Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey with them this time! The three philanthropists have banded together to give a total of $6.2 million for multiple purposes that will help people in need that have been affected by the coronavirus.
Rihanna‘s Clara Lionel Foundation has announced that they have partnered with Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation and Twitter & Square CEO Jack Dorsey and released $6.2 million in grants for COVID-19 rapid response efforts in the U.S and abroad. The grants have been distributed across 11 different organizations and will support relief efforts that include providing shelter, food, and healthcare services to homeless youth in New Orleans; building virus testing capacity across the Caribbean; and the setup of Intensive Care Units ICUs), hospital beds, and isolation units in sub-Saharan Africa, among others.
This latest joint effort follows multiple previous rounds of COVID-19 response grants that have included a co-funded $4.2 million round by the Clara Lionel Foundation and Jack Dorsey and a $2 million matching grant commitment by CLF and the Shawn Carter Foundation. In March, CLF announced $5 million to on-the-ground partners working to protect and prepare vulnerable and marginalized communities in the United States, Caribbean, and Africa.
In response to these relief efforts, the UBS Optimus Foundation announced that it would generously match 100% of CLF’s $1 million grant to Médecins Sans Frontières with an additional $1 million.
Mellody Hobson Shares Economic and Personal Finance Lesson on IG Live with Najah Aziz
Over 400 people tuned in to a timely conversation about personal finances, the economy, and financial literacy on IG Live hosted by celebrity stylist Najah Aziz and owner of Like The River Salon in Atlanta, with guest Mellody Hobson, co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments. The Instagram Live conversation is a part of Aziz’s “At Home Q&A” series where she interviews women in her network. And while Aziz is not a journalist by trade, she is utilizing her social following of 288K people on Instagram to have relevant and meaningful conversations while people are sheltered in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hobson is a business luminary and woman of power who did not hold back about the resilience of black people during challenging times, how to remain financially healthy, what you need to know about the economy, and how to protect your peace during the natural disaster the health crisis has caused. Let’s just say that Aziz’s and Hobson’s conversation was everything!
Najah Aziz, Celebrity Stylist and owner of Like The River Salon
If you weren’t able to tune in, here’s a transcription of the conversation, questions, and Hobson’s responses.
Mellody Hobson on the Economy
Question:If we go into a shelter in place for say, three months, what is your prediction of our financial outlook of the country? And how do we come back?
Hobson: I don’t want to do the hypothetical of ‘if.’ I think we deal with these situations as they come. Right now, we’ve been sheltered in place for weeks. And, the president is signaling that he’s hoping we can begin to open parts of the economy starting in early May. Now, who knows if that is going to happen or not? Governors are starting to work on this. I’m in California right now and governor Newsome started to suggest what a reopening could look like. He’s working in concert with the governors of Oregon and Washington. And on the East Coast, we know that a whole bunch of East Coast states are working together with New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts—all talking about what would this look like? As it relates to the economy, stopping the economy like we have done—it is never been done, ever. We’ve never done this globally. We are in an unprecedented moment.
I had a friend who told me, ‘Our economy is in a medically induced coma.’ We put it into a coma to stop the health crisis. So, we have a financial crisis that’s come out of a health crisis. My outlook, however, remains optimistic. I know these are hard, hard times people are struggling and stuff. I know it. I do understand, I did not grow up with any money. And I know what this is like although this is quite not quite like anything we’ve ever seen. But I do believe over the long term, the US economy has proven to be pretty resilient. And what I’ve been doing is I’ve been going back and look at all of the past crises, even of my time, when the stock market crashed in 1987, when we had 9/11, where the stock market was closed for six days, when we had the global financial crisis, which was the biggest recession since the Great Depression. And now this. And if you look even before that Vietnam War, World War One, World War Two, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the oil embargo of the 70s coming out of all of those periods, 12, 24, 36 months later, you saw a recovery in the economy.
I don’t think this will be any different. No, that doesn’t mean there won’t be real damage here and lasting damage—but I do think over the long term, we’ve been able to see the US economy be fairly resilient. And so hopefully that gives people some hope. Who would have thought? I know this is a long answer that coming out of the global financial crisis that we had in ’08 and oh ’09, that just a few months ago, we’d be at virtual full employment in this country. The unemployment rate was negligible. When you were back then no one could have imagined that that would have happened. The stock market got cut in half during that period, it was down 52%. It’s up over 400% since then, so we need to have our perspective to understand what is really possible, even though this moment right now feels really bad.
Hobson on Humanity
Question: What do you see as some of the biggest positive changes to the way we live our lives as a result of this pandemic?
Hobson: I think that it’s really great to look for the silver lining.
There have been some that have been inarguable, but probably not sustainable. I mean, let’s look at something like air pollution. The air pollution in the world has gone down pretty dramatically. And in some of the countries where the pollution is truly harmful to your health, we’ve seen those numbers drop really, really significantly. So that is one but again, probably not in the sustainable category. I think the other thing that we’ve seen is [that] people are going to be much more thoughtful about unnecessary travel. And we’ve learned that you can do a meeting with a Zoom call. And so maybe people will not be flying all over the way they have been in the past and the same sort of way will be more thoughtful. I also think, you know, humanity has shown up in some ways in such a remarkable way that it gives me faith in just people and our willingness to extend ourselves to each other. And that’s everything from people doing birthday parties for kids. Where they drive around in a parade, to all the things that we’ve seen that our healthcare workers and frontline workers have done to put themselves at risk for the greater good. It is truly inspiring.
Expert: Coronavirus Could Have ‘Devastating’ Effect on the Wealth of Black America
Many people participate in the stock market, rank and file workers through a 401(k) plan, or some kind of employment plan at work. If you’re in that kind of plan, and you can continue to contribute to it that’s a very, very good thing. But if you can continue to contribute, the great thing about a 401(k) plan is you’re buying the stock market or shares in mutual fund shares in a company when they’re high. You’re buying shares in that company a couple of weeks later when they might be lower, and over the long term, you average a better price. So, the best thing you can do is keep investing if you are contributing to a retirement plan.
Now, I recognize for many people in this environment that may not be possible — when you’re trying to literally have money for food, or for gas in your car, or to pay your rent or mortgage. You may have to put that aside. I totally get it so you might have to stop in that regard. Some even may have to borrow money from their 401(k) plan – t’s the money of last, last, last resort. I also recognize we are at that moment for some people, and so they may have to do that.
So, if you have to pull money out, hopefully, you can do it with a loan as opposed to an early withdrawal, because you end up paying a bunch of penalties when you do that. A loan from your 401(k) plan would be better. If you’re putting money in slowly – just a little bit at a time, every month, every few weeks, don’t go and put a whole bunch in at once. That’s what we’re doing at Ariel. We’re just buying in slowly. This is where patience gets rewarded. And when you think about what to invest in, what we do is we look at the areas that have done the worst, not the best. And so, when we look at our own portfolio right now, we say, ‘what’s hung in there really well.’ We might trade those stocks for things that have been decimated, because lots of things have just been indiscriminately sold, and that creates a buying opportunity. But if you’re going to buy, you have to have a long-term view.
I’m talking looking at the next three to five years. I don’t know what’s going to happen next week. I don’t know what’s going to happen next month. But I do know this crisis will end. It’s not if, it’s when. And when it doesn’t, we will see brighter days.
Hobson on the Housing Market
Question: How will the housing market look after this crisis?
So again, no surprise, the housing numbers are down pretty dramatically, and we’re only talking weeks here. The interesting thing about the housing market before this started, there was not a ton of inventory around the country. This isn’t like the oil situation where there’s a glut, there was actually the housing inventory was not low, but it was not in a surplus. So, it might allow itself to recurrent correct. The other thing that is going to be very helpful to the housing market is that a lot of states have in cities have put non-foreclosure rules into place.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two big government-owned housing finance organizations. They said they’re not going to foreclose during this period. So, this won’t be I don’t think this will be like the financial crisis where we saw those foreclosures and that took down values of houses on streets. If you can’t foreclose over the next 12 to 18 months, I think that will allow the housing market to hold up much better than if people were allowed to foreclose.
There’s Hope
In Closing, Hobson’s advice to viewers was to not panic. “The economic news is going to be bad for a while. It’s going to be like Groundhog Day every day. Yesterday, it was retail sales. Today, it’s the unemployment numbers in terms of people putting in for unemployment… We’re going to hear this for a while. So set your expectations appropriately. Don’t panic every time you see this, because again, remember I said, we put the economy in a medically induced coma.”
To learn more about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the black community, click here.
Twitter Users Urge Barack Obama To Deliver A Virtual Commencement Speech To The Class Of 2020
In addition to putting millions of people out of work, the global COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of social, sports, and educational events nationwide. As a result, graduating students will not have the opportunity to experience milestones like their senior trip, prom, or a traditional commencement ceremony. However, to help soften the blow, one high school senior has called on former President Barack Obama to step up to the virtual podium and deliver a national commencement speech.
On Tuesday, Lincoln Debenham, a senior at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, posted a tweet pleading with Obama to deliver a digital address to the graduating class of 2020. The teen asked Obama to use his assuring voice to comfort the many students who feel disheartened by the current circumstances. His tweet quickly went viral as thousands of others shared their support for the idea using the hashtag #ObamaCommencement2020.
Hi @BarackObama! Like most high school/college seniors, I’m saddened by the loss of milestone events, prom & graduation. In an unprecedented time, it would give us great comfort to hear your voice. We ask you to consider giving a national commencement speech to the class of 2020.
When one user suggested it could potentially upset President Donald Trump, Debenham said that wasn’t the intent behind the request. Rather, he reasoned that he and his peers want to hear from Obama because he’s a voice for his generation.
“It isn’t about that. It’s about someone who speaks for my generation. Like Barack Obama was the first President I can remember. The classroom mock elections, watching his inauguration in school. That’s what this is about. Hearing that voice of hope again,” he tweeted.
The high school senior went on to describe the impact Obama has had on his life.
“They got to vote for Barack Obama in mock elections when they were little kids and they got to watch Barack Obama become the first black president and get sworn in while they were in school,” Debenham told CNN. “I remember watching that in the classroom and feeling kind of amazed at such a young age and feel like I was a part of history.”
A spokeswoman for Obama told CNN that they were aware of the tweets and “very flattered” but declined to comment further.
Obama gave several commencement addresses while he was president, including Howard University, the University of Michigan, Rutgers University, and Arizona State University. The 44th president, however, has not delivered a commencement keynote since he left office.
On Thursday, the ride-sharing company announced that it is offering complimentary rides to the grocery store, pharmacy, and medical centers for members of the NAACP, National Action Network, National Urban League, and Black Women’s Roundtable. Free ride credits will also be granted to members who commute to their jobs and workers on the frontline of the crisis.
“We are heartened by Lyft’s willingness to provide NAACP branch members with ride credits throughout April,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, in a statement. “This charitable service during this critical time offers our members, specifically those that are still working to sustain their local community, support, and travel to essential destinations.”
Members of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, and the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging will also be provided free ride credits to get essential supplies, healthcare appointments, or volunteer to help those in need.
“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Lyft to provide support for our Black Women’s Roundtable state-based networks to assist our members with much-needed transportation assistance,” said Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Roundtable. “Access to transportation in many urban and rural Black communities is a vital need for senior citizens and essential employees who are on the front lines providing services in healthcare, sanitation, grocery stores, food banks and so much more.”
COVID-19 is having a disproportionate effect on communities of color due to disparities in access to healthcare and transportation. Data shows that African Americans make up a higher percentage of essential workers who must commute to work. In addition, more African Americans work in lower-wage industries that are more vulnerable to layoffs when compared to the overall U.S population. Only 20% of black workers reported being eligible to work from home compared with about 30% of their white counterparts. Furthermore, 49% of Hispanics say they or someone in their household has taken a pay cut or lost a job—or both—because of the COVID-19 outbreak, compared with 33% of all U.S. adults.
“That’s why we are building on our existing LyftUp work with organizations around North America and announcing new efforts with leading national organizations that promote equity and economic opportunity for communities of color,” reads a statement from Lyft. “By partnering directly with organizations that have long-supported communities of color, we can continue to bring more equitable transportation options to communities when they need them most.”
Kamala Harris Introduces The VoteSafe Act to Protect Voters Amid COVID-19 Crisis
The COVID-19 outbreak, otherwise known as the coronavirus pandemic, has caused economic devastation across the country with marginalized communities feeling the brunt of the heavy losses with an additional 5 million people applying for unemployment this week. Now Sen. Kamala Harris wants to ensure that the quarantine protocols don’t affect the upcoming election.
Harris announced that she would be introducing the VoteSafe Act to expand voting options and improve the safety and accessibility of polling places in the U.S. The new bill would require states to permit no-excuse mail-in absentee voting, maintain an early voting period of at least 20 days, and provide grants for states to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of polling places.
“So many have marched, protested, fought and died for the fundamental right to vote, yet that right is under attack,” said Harris in a press statement.
“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the obstacles many already face when voting. Even before the pandemic, Native Americans, Black and Latinx voters, and voters with disabilities too often faced long lines, inaccessible voting locations, and outright hostility by election officials. I’m proud to announce the VoteSafe Act because the American people deserve a comprehensive solution to ensure that voting is safe and accessible.”
The bill has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), NALEO Educational Fund, National Disability Rights Network, Native American Rights Fund, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC).
“Last week’s election in Wisconsin made evident that we must move quickly and decisively to ensure during this COVID-19 pandemic that voters will not have to choose between their health and safety, and exercising their fundamental right as citizens to vote,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc.
“For African American voters who have been disproportionately affected by the virus and its deadly effects, and for whom the right to vote was hard won at the cost of thousands of lives, it is particularly important that Congress ensure that there are options like expanded early voting, as well as safe, secure alternatives to in-person voting, to ensure that every eligible African American voter has the opportunity to cast their vote in November.”
Mielle Organics Founders Launch The Secret Sauce to Success Academy to Support Women Entrepreneurs
MIELLE Organics is one of the fastest-growing natural haircare companies for women of color. The high demand for its products has turned the business into a multimillion-dollar company. And co-founders Monique and Melvin Rodriguez, CEO and COO of the company, respectively, want to help and inspire others to achieve success through The Secret Sauce Academy. The academy is a six-week mentorship program that promises to help female entrepreneurs make their small business dreams a reality.
With more than 20 years of experience and being partly responsible for helping to dominate the shelves of over 100,000 retailers including Target, Walmart, CVS, and more – Melvin Rodriguez is ready to help women win in entrepreneurship.
Sauce is an acronym for:
Study the Market
Authority and Authenticity
Understand your gift and passion
Clarify your message
Educate and empower your audience
“We are trying to solve a problem. And that problem is, African American women should have the same opportunities as everybody else to build their own brand and communities that are self-sustaining,” said Melvin Rodriguez.
He went on to say, “Our goal is to help individuals follow their dreams, help them accomplish their God-given talents, and help them as in terms of branding and marketing strategies, to grow their business.”
Rodriguez also hopes to encourage women interested in entrepreneurship to start where they are. With that being said, women from all backgrounds with different experience levels are welcomed to join The Secret Sauce Academy.
The Secret Sauce
Over the course of the six weeks, women will learn how to:
Understand their business vision.
Understand and leverage their talents and gifts.
Increasing sales and profit & Crafting their unique brand story
Learn time management and how to focus.
Create a loyal fan base community.
Increase and maximize social media.
Learn proven marketing strategies.
To date, the academy has helped women grow their business acumen and achieve their dreams.
“We have individuals that have been able to position themselves to grow their following and create greater engagement on their social media platforms. We have individuals who have turned their business around and have increased revenue and access upwards up to 60 to 80% – as well as their revenue year over year. We want to make sure that everyone has positioned themselves to follow through with their dreams,” said Melvin Rodriguez.
If you are looking to leap into entrepreneurship or grow your business, click here to learn more about The Secret Sauce Academy.
Trump Wants To Reopen Economy, 8 In 10 Americans Say Wait
A new poll shows more than 80% of Americans are willing to wait for normal life to resume in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus, even if President Donald Trump isn’t.
According to Forbes, the poll, conducted by Politico, shows 81% of Americans believe the country “should continue to maintain social distance for as long as is needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, even if it means continued damage to the economy. Just 10% of Americans believe they “should stop social distancing to stimulate the economy, even if it means increasing the spread of coronavirus.” Another 9% have no opinion.
The poll was released while Trump is desperately trying to reopen the economy as millions are unemployed and many are struggling to receive unemployment benefits.
“It’s going to be very close, maybe even before the date of May 1st … for some states,” Trump said at a White House press briefing Tuesday. “Actually there are over 20 states that are in extremely good shape. And we think we’re going to be able to get them open fairly quickly, and then others will follow.
According to the poll, Americans are more worried about “the public health impact of the coronavirus including the spread of the virus which would cause more deaths” than they are about “the economic impact of coronavirus including the effect on the stock market and increased unemployment.”
A Pew poll indicated last month that Democrats were far more concerned about the virus than Republicans were. That gap appears to have closed significantly in the new poll by Morning Consult and Politico.
The virus has killed more than 600,000 people across the country with almost 35,000 deaths—10,000 people in New York City alone have died. USA Today reported more than 22 million citizens have filed for unemployment and the number is expected to continue to rise.
Expert: Coronavirus Could Have ‘Devastating’ Effect on the Wealth of Black America
The novel coronavirus is having a sobering effect on the American economy, but its impact on blacks could be staggering. And it will certainly exacerbate the already troubling wealth gap.
In fact, it could be “immense and devastating,” said Duke professor William “Sandy” Darity during a media briefing about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families.
Darity is a professor of public policy, African and African American Studies, and economics who specializes in wealth and income disparities, the social-psychological effects of exposure to unemployment, and reparations. He also directs the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity.
He and his colleagues agreed that the $2 trillion stimulus bill won’t be enough to solve the financial problems facing America’s working families, particularly African Americans, and that a massive infusion of cash and other government resources is needed.
William A. Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke University
Here’s what Darity had to say about the pandemic’s potential toll on the income and wealth of black Americans:
On the disparities in health and wealth…
“Black Americans constitute approximately 13% of the nation’s population but only possess about 2.6% of the nation’s wealth. This translates into an average gap per household of about $800,000 This immense differential means that under any emergency circumstances, black families have considerably less resources to function as a cushion and they do not have the resources to have access to the best health care or the best preventive measures to insure one has better health.
“And, as a consequence, we’re seeing these staggering numbers associated with racial disparities and the mortality from COVID-19. For example, in the state of Louisiana, blacks make up 32% of the population but 70% of the deaths from the coronavirus.”
On the greater risk to blacks…
“The types of disparities we’re talking about in terms of disadvantage, particularly with respect to employment, is fairly widespread but it disproportionately weighs on black America.
“Particular for folks who are in personal contact, personal service employment, that require close connections to your customer base at a time when we’re trying to minimize connections between individuals and trying to minimize large gatherings, that means the odds of job loss is high. Or, if they’re in … employments we deem essential, like people in health care services or the hospital sector, they themselves are at greater risk. It’s somewhat of a prisoner’s dilemma: Either you lose your job or you keep a job in which you’re going to be exposed to a high level of danger.”
On black unemployment…
“I think that on the side of income, as opposed to wealth, the first thing we have to consider is the vast amount of job loss that’s going to take place. We know that historically in the United States the black unemployment rate is consistently two times the white unemployment rate. And that’s true regardless of educational attainment. This has always been the case from the time we first began to collect unemployment statistics in the United States.
“People are projecting that the national unemployment rate is going to reach 30% or even higher possibly. Then, the projected unemployment rate for black Americans could run as high as 50%, which is absolutely staggering and is a number we have never seen in this country. There could be immense and devastating income effects associated with the evolving depression.”
On the racial wealth gap…
“In terms of wealth effects, if anything, I would argue the existing policies we put in place, like the CARES Act, disproportionately benefits individuals who already are relatively better positioned because of the amount of resources going indirectly to workers, because they have to be delivered as the pass-through to small businesses but also fairly substantial large corporations.
“We might actually observe a further worsening in wealth disparities both in general and in respect to the racial wealth gap. I’m hard-pressed to put a real number on what that might look like, but it’s been horrendous in recent years and I can only imagine those kinds of disparities will get worse in the absence of any significant policy intervention.”
Drinking Alcohol Can Increase Chances Of Being Infected By Coronavirus
Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of catching COVID-19 and make the symptoms worse if you get infected with the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
According to CNBC, the WHO made the announcement Tuesday, recommending government leaders worldwide limit alcohol access during coronavirus lockdowns.
“Alcohol compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes,” the WHO’s regional office for Europe said on its site late Tuesday.
The WHO also published a guidance dispelling the “dangerous myth that consuming high-strength alcohol can kill” the coronavirus.
“It does not,” the WHO said. ““Therefore, people should minimize their alcohol consumption at any time, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The WHO added that it could result in serious health issues, including death. About 3 million deaths a year are attributable to alcohol without a pandemic driving up consumption. However, Americans are imbibing more at home now that bars and restaurants are closed. According to the financial services company Rabobank, the bar and restaurant market stands lose $15 billion in alcohol sales over the next two months.
Additionally, alcohol sales at U.S. liquor and grocery stores were up 22% for the week ending March 28 compared with the same time last year. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus offered healthier advice, including eating healthy and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise per day for adults and an hour for kids.
“It’s normal to feel stressed, confused, and scared during a crisis. Talking to people you know and trust can help,” Tedros said. “And try not to read or watch too much news if it makes you anxious. Get your information from reliable sources once or twice a day.”
The coronavirus outbreak has sent the world indoors. Researchers believe it will stay that way for some time. The virus has significantly impacted Americans as more than 16 million people have lost their job.
Velázquez has joined forces with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), National Restaurant Association, Illinois Restaurant Association, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) to speak out on access issues with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to marginalized communities—just.a day before the SBA announced that the program has run out of funds.
In a webcast, they urged for a more equitable implementation of the program featuring increased investment to vulnerable small businesses. Such additional dollars will be even more critical since the SBA had to stop accepting loan applications once the funds were exhausted.
“In these trying times, reaching traditionally underserved businesses in our federal relief efforts to COVID-19 is essential,” Velázquez said in a press statement. “That is why I will keep pressing for additional funding and commonsense reforms to strengthen federal relief efforts and ensure that all small businesses have the opportunity to secure capital and other resources that are key to a full and efficient recovery.”
Martin Eakes, president and CEO Self Help Credit Union, also joined the webcast to address the PPP’s emerging issues. “As the one of the largest CDFIs [Community Development Financial Institutions] in the country, our mission is to create and protect economic opportunity for all. Businesses of color are the backbone of the American economy, and many of them rely on CDFIs and other local, community banks to conduct their financial needs,” said Eakes.
“For the Paycheck Protection Program to be successful and benefit entrepreneurs and communities of color, and others who are traditionally shut out due to discriminatory banking practices, CDFIs must play an integral role in the implementation.”
The webcast included a Q&A section to address questions from attendees with others, including Renee Bender, Senior Professional Staff with the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee under Chairman Marco Rubio; Raul Raymundo, CEO of the Resurrection Project, a member organization of NPNA; and Melissa Jung, who serves as the Chief of Staff for Chairwoman Velázquez.
“We want to thank Congresswoman Velázquez and Senator Rubio for continuing to champion Paycheck Protection Program opportunities for the most vulnerable businesses and institutions in our society,” Raymundo said.
