Under Armour fights Covid-19 impact with $2 million community charities pledge

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Mar 20, 2020

Baltimore, Maryland-based athletic retailer Under Armour is doing its part to fight the Covid-19 outbreak by donating a total of $2 million to food and athletic charities. 

In a press release, the company said that it is donating $1 million to Feeding America- a nonprofit network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs located across the United States - to support hunger relief efforts, as a result of temporary school closures and quarantines. 

The donation efforts will be focused on reaching the cities where Under Armour teammates live and work, the company said, including Baltimore, Maryland; San Francisco and Rialto, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; and Portland, Oregon.

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According to Feeding America, its network feeds 40 million people each year. 

On top of making food access more difficult, the novel coronavirus - which was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 16 - has also complicated physical activity, with health officials encouraging people to stay home and many gyms closing to curb the virus's spread. 

As a solution, Under Armour will launch a '30-day Healthy at Home' fitness challenge on its MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun platforms. When users join the challenge beginning March 23, Under Armour will donate up to $1 million - in a combination of monetary donation and product - to support Good Sports, a charity that encourages youth to stay active by providing athletic equipment, apparel and footwear to those in need. 

"It's our mission at Under Armour to make athletes better, and in these unprecedented times we are even more committed to providing our communities with essential resources," said Patrik Frisk, CEO of Under Armour.

"Through access to nutrition and fitness, we want to support the health and wellness goals that are being challenged at this time."

On Sunday, Under Armour announced that it had closed all 188 of its North American stores until March 28, as a virus precaution.