LEHI — “Modern Family” star and sometimes-Salt Lake resident Ty Burrell is joining forces with Utah tech advocacy group Silicon Slopes and others in raising funds for those being impacted by ongoing COVID-19 issues.
Burrell, who has ownership interests in several Utah businesses, including Bar X and Beer Bar in Salt Lake City as well as the Eating Place in Park City, said he’s very concerned about newly out-of-work residents across the state following recently implemented COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants and other businesses that have put thousands out of work.
“My wife and I are ... looking to start a fundraising campaign for food and beverage employees who are a particularly vulnerable population,” Burrell said on a virtual town hall hosted by Silicon Slopes Wednesday. “Having been a terrible waiter myself, navigating the unemployment world is very tricky. ... It’s very difficult to get unemployment.”
Burrell said he and his wife will seed the fund and are working with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and will be reaching out to Silicon Slopes representatives as well to get a fundraising portal in place, or a surrogate entity to process tax deductible funds on behalf of the effort, in the next 24 hours.
Silicon Slopes also unveiled its own fundraising effort — the COVID19 Utah Community Response Fund — which will be “used exclusively to accelerate the private sector’s impact of COVID19 in Utah.”
That fund has already been seeded with $1.2 million already committed by Utah companies, executives and individuals and will be looking to boost efforts in the following areas:
- FDA-approved COVID19 test kits to accelerate the diagnosis of fellow Utahns
- Medical supplies for those health professionals and nonprofit workers in contact with potentially infected individuals
- Public health and K-12 education
Silicon Slopes Executive Director Clint Betts said the Utah tech community is engaging in numerous efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 as well as help those who were already suffering economic impacts from the pandemic, whether they were sick or not.
“The outpouring of support from Silicon Slopes’ CEOs has been immense,” Betts said in a statement. “Many of them are allowing employees to donate their time to volunteering in the efforts, but we need more help.
“Our community has always been known for its volunteerism and ability to step up in times of need. We hope this new fund and additional resources will provide opportunities and education on where members of our community can direct their efforts.”
Nomi Health founder and CEO Mark Newman said Utah tech leaders are ready to partner with government organizations and health care providers to elevate the fight against COVID-19.
“We all play a role in how we address this issue and how we as a community recover as well,” Newman said in a statement. “This is a time when the private sector and the Silicon Slopes community can show its strength to alleviate the strain placed on government and health care organizations to lessen the impact of COVID19 on our great state.”
Besides fundraising, Silicon Slopes is also reaching out to community members to help gather and donate medical and sanitary supplies such as masks, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, diapers, 800-level Tyvek protective suits, goggles and testing swabs. Those interested in helping with donations, volunteering time or making financial contributions can find details at www.SlopesServes.com.
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney also joined the call and delivered an update on efforts at the federal level, noting that in addition to the ongoing efforts to curb further spread of CVOID-19, taking swift action on addressing economic fallout is critical.
“Our biggest problem right now is the number of people out of work ... and businesses in real distress,” Romney said.
Current next-step federal efforts under consideration, Romney said, include a national stimulus package that could include sending every American adult checks for “$1,000 or more” and an additional $500 for dependent children, an emergency small business loan program for companies with less than 500 employees that could include a provision for loan forgiveness with certain stipulations, and a program to help get businesses that are critical to national infrastructure, like airline companies, through the deepening economic downturn.
Romney said the country is fiscally ill prepared to weather any kind of long-term national order to shelter in place, as has already happened in some areas of the country.
While the town hall was intended to help continue the work of matching private sector expertise and resources with public sector COVID-19 efforts, there was also a glimmer of good news coming from University of Utah Health CEO Michael Good.
Good said South Korea, a country hit hard by COVID-19 early on in the pandemic, had put together a robust response to help address spread of the virus and was already making some initial steps back toward normalcy. Good said that the U.’s satellite campus in the country is scheduled to return to its regular in-person classes on April 6.