Gucci will stand with its global community to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by making two separate donations to crowdfunding campaigns: locally, in Italy where the company is based, for the Italian Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile)i in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo; and globally, for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fundii in support of the World Health Organization, through a matching campaign with Facebook.

At a time when many are confined to their homes, Gucci is calling on its friends and followers from its global community—who share values of social justice for diversity, equality and freedom—to stand with the House in raising funds to alieve this crisis, by helping health services with equipment and powering the scientists who are working on vaccines and treatments. The initiative follows donations from Kering, Gucci’s parent company, in China, Italy and France and the production of over 1 million masks and gowns for healthcare personnel.

“This pandemic calls us to an unexpected task, but it is a call to which we respond decisively, advocating the selfless work carried out by health workers, doctors and nurses on the front lines every day in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in Italy and in the rest of the world. Their generosity and courage light our way forward in these difficult days. By supporting each other and helping those who are most vulnerable among us, we will be able to overcome this crisis: united, even more than before,” wrote Alessandro Michele, Creative Director of Gucci, and Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO of Gucci in a letter announcing the initiative to the company’s employees around the world.

In Gucci’s home country of Italy, which has been particularly affected by the crisis, €1 million will be donated to the valiant efforts of the National Civil Protection Department through Intesa Sanpaolo’s ForFunding crowd-funding platformiii with a dedicated webpage gucci.forfunding.it, where the #GucciCommunity can also make donations. The funds will be allocated by the Italian National Civil Protection Department, to reinforce Italy’s health services and organizations managing the emergency, with the creation of new ICU beds as a priority.

Internationally, Gucci will contribute €1 million to the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund in support of the World Health Organization (WHO) through a Facebook US$10 million matching fundraiser. The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund’s aim is to support WHO’s lifesaving work across countries, including to help track and understand the spread of the virus, to strengthen patient care and ICUs, to improve supplies for health personnel, including of protection devices, and to accelerate the development of vaccines and therapies. The #GucciCommunity is invited to make a donation to the Solidarity Response Fund for WHO through the “donate” feature available in the IG stories on www.instagram.com/Gucci iv. The total amount will be matched by Facebook as part of its Matching initiative. Since it launched less than two weeks ago the Solidarity Response Fund has attracted donations from more than 200,000 people worldwide and some of the biggest companies. The House’s other social media channels and Gucci.com will also feature links to donate to both crowdfunding initiatives.

Starting tomorrow, Gucci will also put its social media accounts, with over 70 million followers, at the disposal of the World Health Organization, to help in amplifying official public service information to protect the health, safety and well-being of the community.

Concluding their letter Alessandro Michele and Marco Bizzarri wrote, “Gucci has created a world, open and free: a Gucci global community. We ask all of you to be the Changemakersv in this crisis, to stand together with us in the fight against the Coronavirus. We are all in this together.”