They closed all of the McDonalds here in Ireland last week. The radio reports told of the vastness of the closures. Not just the jobs at the restaurants were affected, but all the way down the chain; from local farmers who supply the beef or grow grain for the buns to the haulers and equipment-repair workers, the closures will hurt.
Then the reporter mentioned something I hadn’t thought of: Millions of dollars for the Ronald McDonald Houses are collected in change canisters at the counters of these establishments. This will be a massive blow to the charitable organization that allows parents of ill children to stay near the hospitals where they are being treated.
Not too long after that report, I started seeing more evidence of what we can expect to be a hard punch to the whole of the nonprofit, charity, and patient advocacy sector.
MS Walkathons, Bike Tours, Gala Dinners: Canceled
Walks, runs, luncheons, gala dinners, pub crawls, church gate collections … they’re all being canceled. For the likes of multiple sclerosis (MS) organizations around the world, these events earn the revenue upon which they budget services to our lot.
Tens of thousands of people raise millions of dollars for a long list of organizations that provide programs, services, advocacy, and awareness to and for the global MS community.
Top that with major donors, who often quietly give large sums, being affected by a historic downturn in the world’s financial markets, so their gifts and endowments will surely dwindle as well.
We’ve Seen This Before, During the Great Recession
I wasn’t much involved in the sector when the 9/11 economic difficulties hit. I wasn’t diagnosed five months yet at the time.
I do, however, remember how deeply the global slowdown of 2007 to 2009 — dubbed by many the Great Recession — took its toll on both local and national MS organizations. There were reductions in services, valuable (and loved) staff had to be laid off, and some organizations even had to fold or merge with others to ensure that people with multiple sclerosis got the services and support they so desperately needed, particularly in difficult economic times.
And now, this.
The strongest charities will have adequate reserves to see them through, even if it is with reduced staff and restricted services. Smaller organizations, however, the ones who often make the most direct impact on the lives of those of us living with this disease, may not make it to the other side of the economic crisis that will be the inevitable result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Concerns Take Precedence for Now
Right now, as people we know are social distancing, self-isolating, and awaiting test results, this mayn’t seem like the most important subject. And it’s not. There are many other concerns for people in the international MS community. But I asked myself the other day, “How does this end, and what will it all look like after?”
For the MS community, as well as innumerable patient advocacy charities around world, what it looks like and what they will be able to do after the pandemic resolves will be of great importance in the months and years to come.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
