Dee and Jimmy Haslam, part of the Columbus Crew SC ownership group, have pledged $1.5 million to COVID-19 relief funds throughout the state of Ohio.
Via their Haslam 3 Foundation, $1 million is set for the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund. Another $500,000 is set for the Columbus Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund.
“We are humbled by the tremendous work of people around the world in their efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19 and we wanted to try to positively impact those affected in our own communities of Cleveland and Columbus,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. “We are grateful for the individuals who are putting others before themselves and for the sacrifices they are making.”
The Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund is geared towards public health officials and expanding local capacity to address the COVID-19 outbreak. As for the Columbus Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund, it assists non-profit organizations that are responding to COVID-19 and experiencing financial challenges by doing so.
Since entering new ownership in December 2018 behind the #SaveTheCrew movement, the Crew have entered a promising new era. They have a new downtown stadium that’s set to open in 2021, while the OhioHealth Performance Center will be a new state-of-the-art training facility. Their roster has also been retooled under president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko.
Aside from owning the Crew, the Haslams also own the NFL's Cleveland Browns.
