Michael Che has been personally touched by the effects of the devastating coronavirus, and now, he’s ready to pay it forward to others in need.
The Saturday Night Live star lost his grandmother earlier this month to the illness, first making an emotional announcement 10 days ago on Instagram about her tragic passing. But even while grieving, the 36-year-old comedian is focused on making a difference for those around him — and he’s starting close to home.
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On Wednesday, Che posted to IG again to reveal he’ll be paying a month’s rent for every one of the residents living in his grandma’s one-time New York City apartment. The public housing building contains 160 units, so a significant and inspiring gesture for the SNL star to make, to be sure!
He told fans of his decision to do so in a passionate message on the social media site, writing (below):
“It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t even work. Obviously I can’t offer much help by myself, but in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in. I know that’s just a drop in the bucket. So I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing, AT THE VERY LEAST.”
Very, very generous during a tough time for so many!!
Here is his full post (below), complete with a postscript message to NY Governor Chris Cuomo, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio, and the rapper Diddy (yes, really):
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_BRjZXpkMd/
Wow!
It’s generosity borne out of tragedy and adversity, of course, but we love to see celebs making a difference like this in their local communities. “Drop in the bucket” or not, we think Che’s gesture is amazing and heroic, and it’ll certainly make a big difference in those residents’ lives!
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Unfortunately, New York continues to be the epicenter of the coronavirus as we move through April. According to the CDC’s COVID-19 tracking website, through Wednesday, the Empire State has seen roughly 201,834 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak. That’s the most, by far, of any state in the US — roughly one-third of all the cases in the country, and ten times more than other large population states like California (23,338) and Florida (20,984).
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those valiantly fighting the coronavirus on the front line — doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc. — as well as those, like Che, who have lost loved ones to the virus.
We’re all in this together. ❤️
[Image via Derrick Salters/WENN]
