Verizon Media has announced a donation of $10 million in advertising inventory to support mental and public health response efforts to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The inventory will be used to raise awareness and mobilize resources, deepening Verizon Media’s longstanding commitment to supporting the health of the global community at large. Verizon Media will also provide campaign support including creative services and management. As part of its well being initiative, the company also launched Yahoo Life, a site focused on news, resources and content dedicated to wellbeing.
“The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented challenge,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. “At a time like this, it is essential for all of us to work together and do what we can to support the world’s physical, mental and emotional health. Our ad inventory reaches hundreds of millions of people as they come to us on a daily basis for trusted news and information during this difficult time. By partnering with these incredible organizations, we can make a difference in the well-being of our community and society.”
Verizon Media’s donation is part of Verizon’s broader initiatives across the company to support COVID-19 efforts. The donation will support the following national and international mental health organizations, who have seen a demand in services due to COVID-19. The organizations target diverse and high-risk populations impacted by the outbreak, in addition to the general public.
- Child Mind Institute – Dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health disorders; provides COVID-19 support through remote telemedicine and evaluations and video chats with expert clinicians
- Crisis Text Line – 24/7 free text support for those in crisis anywhere in the U.S, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada; connects people with a trained crisis counselor; also provides training to volunteers to support people in crisis
- Empower Work – Provides confidential, free text support for workplace situations through trained peer counselors; a large percentage of users are low wage workers or from underrepresented communities who have been impacted by COVID-19
- Mental Health Foundation – Partners closely with local governments to provide response to mental health at the community level; focused on prevention and helping people to understand, protect and sustain their mental health
- The Trevor Project – Provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to LGBTQ young people, in addition to guidance and resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting and inclusive environments for all youth
- The donation will also aid COVID-19 response efforts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization.
In addition to providing ad inventory, Verizon Media will also donate creative and staff resources from its Ad Creative Technology team to build campaigns for each partner organization. Campaigns will span multiple formats — display, video, native — and run across the entirety of the Verizon Media ecosystem, including owned-and-operated properties, like Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, HuffPost and TechCrunch, as well as third-party properties available through the Verizon Media advertiser platform.
Verizon Media will also launch Yahoo Life, a site dedicated to providing wellbeing education, news and resources. The content will range from mental health to fitness to parenting, as well as tips from experts on how to stay healthy mentally, physically and emotionally.
“The coronavirus crisis is more than a challenge for our physical health,” added Gowrappan. “Both the anxiety of contracting the virus, as well as the increase in loneliness and isolation, can significantly affect your wellbeing. Through Yahoo Life, we have an opportunity to provide an additional and valuable resource to those who might be searching for resources during this difficult period.”
