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Chicago Is Uniting For The Greater Good

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The power of the human spirit in Chicago and throughout Illinois is on full display for the country to see. From big companies to startups to universities, everyone is focused on developing innovative solutions for the greater good. Now in my fourth article of this series, read more about the latest breakthroughs and initiatives in the Land of Lincoln below.

Cameo: As one of the country’s hottest social media startups, Cameo leveraged its high profile status to host a virtual, 3-day event entitled, “Cameo Cares” that featured live performances and appearances from celebrities, athletes and entertainers. Programming included more than 25 sessions and all proceeds from booked Cameos were donated to help those impacted by COVID-19. In total, over $725K was raised for charities, including The Actors Fund, Musicares, Restaurant Employee Relief Fund and No Kid Hungry.

ChicagoNEXT: A World Business Chicago initiative, ChicagoNext drives inclusive growth and opportunity for Chicago's technology economy and innovation ecosystem. The organization manages a variety of programs, including ThinkChicago, which is a national STEM talent attraction and retention program for Chicago tech companies. In response to the pandemic, ThinkChicago launched a Spring 2020 Resume Book to introduce university talent with local tech companies who are hiring but cannot recruit on campus. ChicagoNEXT continues to proactively engage with undergraduate and graduate students at Chicago and Illinois universities who are looking for career-building internships or full-time positions.

Classkick: The virtual learning app has stepped up to assist schools with the increased need for remote education. Classkick enables teachers to use content to see and respond to their students in real-time. Students can ask for help privately, provide peer feedback and receive ideas and corrections on screen from their teachers. Due to school closures and teachers being forced to transition to remote teaching, Classkick offered their Pro School Membership for free to any school in need. Since the end of March, over 15,000 new schools have signed up for the remote learning app, which provides millions of students access to the platform. 

DePaul University: The largest Catholic university in the U.S. is working hard to make a difference in the midst of the pandemic. Faculty and students have been busy developing solutions for the shortage of personal protective equipment. Whether it’s utilizing 3D printers at home or involving a business to produce the VisMed3D DEFENDER FaceShield, the faculty, students and school affiliated entrepreneurs have been working to manufacture supplies for hospitals. In the midst of a shortage of medical supplies, these face shields and masks help healthcare workers, delivery employees, onsite personnel and others to protect themselves and others from the spread of the virus.

Illinois Institute of Technology: Illinois Tech, a private university in Chicago, is delivering creative solutions to big problems through their talent and technology. The university reopened 10 labs to provide the state Department of Public Health with 13,000 tubes of viral transport medium (VTM) per week. Faculty, staff and PhD students are producing VTM, which is the critical substance in the testing tubes that preserves sample swabs until testing. Housed in the University’s Tech Park, Attune Medical is a medical device company that is now aiming to help patients who suffer from respiratory failure caused by COVID-19. The company is currently working with world experts to evaluate efficacy in treating infections.

Naturally Chicago: FamilyFarmed launched Naturally Chicago, a program to bring together leaders, businesses and advocates to create momentum within the region’s natural products community. By providing networking, collaboration and education, the organization helps to accelerate the growth of the natural products sector. In response to the pandemic, some of the companies affiliated with the group, including Top Note Tonics, Art of Dosa, Local Foods and Get Wild Snacks, have utilized their products for donations or delivery to frontline workers for the greater good of the medical community. 

Northwestern University: Through the entrepreneurial programs at Northwestern University, student founded startups have played a critical role in increased innovation during the pandemic. For example, City Health Tech helps ensure proper hand washing time and technique and Fabric Medical aims to get thousands of KN95 certified respirators to counter the shortage of N95 masks. Since the pandemic, Connect & Care pivoted to offer remote matching for organizations in need of volunteers. In addition to student founded startups, faculty and groups affiliated with Northwestern University have helped drive creative solutions. Needed Resources partnered with Rheaply to build the Emergency Response Exchange (ERx), an online platform that connects hospitals with critical supplies from organizations within and outside the medical supply chain. SwiftScale Biologics developed an impressive cell-free biomanufacturing platform, which can reduce the production time of antibody therapies. 

Option Care Health: OCH, a Chicagoland company, is the nation’s largest independent provider of home and alternate site infusion services. The team at OCH is currently working on the frontlines to assist hospital and healthcare systems as they navigate variable levels of demand. Post-acute care partners, like OCH, can safely and effectively transition patients to home or alternative sites for ongoing clinical care, which ultimately helps free up beds for critically ill COVID-19 patients. Learn more about OCH’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hatchery Chicago: A non-profit food and beverage incubator launched a campaign to support members who are donating care packages or meals to frontline healthcare workers and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The incubator also started a fund, along with their partners Ingredion, PepsiCo Foundation and Griffith Foods, to provide financial relief to small food and beverage businesses. Additionally, one of their members, Lil’ Gourmets, has been donating their 100% organic baby and toddler meals to families in need.  

The University of Chicago: The University’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a top-ranked business accelerator, recently launched a free, week-long Small Business Bootcamp to provide support and guidance to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Over 1,200 participants were engaged by Chicago Booth professors and business experts. All sessions were recorded and can be watched on Polsky Center’s YouTube channel. In addition to the Polsky Center, University of Chicago’s Partnering for Community Impact initiative is a new program launched to provide emergency support for residents, businesses and community-based nonprofits on the South Side of Chicago. So far, the program has delivered over 225,000 meals to residents, invested $1M in food through direct funding and philanthropy, and awarded $680,000 to 180+ small businesses and $400,000 to 79 nonprofits through emergency COVID-19 bridge grants.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: The University’s Grainger College of Engineering and Carle Health created the Illinois RapidVent, a working prototype emergency ventilator that plugs into the oxygen source available in most hospital rooms, and the Illinois RapidAlarm, which is a sensor and alarm system. In addition to these impressive contributions, EarthSense, a startup based in the University’s Research Park, developed the farmbot, TerraSentia. The team adapted the farmbot into a UV disinfection robot that could disinfect surfaces in medical settings. This sanitizing system would immediately help hospitals respond to the virus and will help slow the spread of viral and bacterial infections in the future.

Vital Proteins: Since the crisis, this Chicago-based wellness company has donated over 150,000 units (valued around $500,000), of its flavored collagen waters to hospital workers and first responders to keep them hydrated while at work. 

If you’re a Chicago company looking for additional resources amidst the pandemic, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has compiled a COVID-19 resources document for businesses, and my firm, HPA, has also created a comprehensive guide.

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