Solidarity in times of the coronavirus is nothing to do with size. Beyond the mobilization of large companies and the headlines that have dominated the news during this time, our SMEs – 99.8% of our business fabric – have not hesitated to give the best of themselves.
Cooking for heroes
In the SME ecosystem, a single WhatsApp message is enough to mobilize a large number of partners and collaborators. That is precisely what happened with the ” Food 4 Heroes” initiative. A message between colleagues in the sector mobilized more than 100 hospitality entrepreneurs to put their kitchens at the service of hospital healthcare staff. Healthy, well-prepared food to ensure the great heroes of this story could recharge their batteries.
Also at the service of healthcare workers, the Emergency Home network brings together more than 150 real estate agents from all over Spain to offer free accommodation for hospital staff. Transport companies that offer their fleet for transfers to health centers, messengers in charge of shopping for health workers, and the “guerrilla” Flor Motion – a group of florists who got together to deliver bouquets of hope and encouragement to patients and health workers – all these people demonstrated that when it comes to solidarity there is no undertaking or gesture too small.
Organized solidarity
This wave of solidarity is of such magnitude that the danger of “overflow” motivated the creation of the Rescueapp. Just as large companies have lent their powerful logistics networks to manage shipments, a good number of SMEs have organized themselves through Rescueapp to optimize donations and deliver gloves, masks, gowns, face shields, disinfectant gels, tablets, smartphones and respirators to wherever they are most needed. This platform also establishes links between companies that supply raw materials with others that can manufacture products.
Local commerce
But SMEs have not only targeted health workers. In these days of lockdown, many small businesses have become very active agents when it comes to collaborating with the general public. Shops providing home delivery for the elderly, gyms that send personalized training routines to do at home, training academies that offer educational resources for free… Many of these actions are already reflected in the #YoMeQuedoContigo campaign (I’m With You) through which famous influencers give visibility to the solidarity of SMEs and the self-employed.
