See which companies and celebrities are doing the right thing during the COVID-19 pandemic by checking the Did They Help? website.

 

Times like these bring out the best, and the worst, in people. A website called Did They Help? lets you track who, and what companies, are doing during the COVID-19 pandemic, so you can offer or withdraw your support accordingly.

 

Did They Help? defines Heroes as “Companies and high profile people who have gone made (sic) positive changes and actions to support employees and society due to the Coronavirus / Covid-19 pandemic”. Zeros, logically enough, are people and companies cited for making negative or counterproductive choices in the context of the pandemic.

 

Its official Heroes include chef José Andrés, creator of the World Central Kitchen nonprofit, which is feeding front-line medical personnel, and also Darden Restaurants, which owns the Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and other national chains, for offering paid sick leave to all its employees as well as two weeks of emergency pay for hourly employees.

 

The Zeros list counts chef Gordon Ramsey for laying off 500 workers due to the pandemic, as well as the GameStop video game chain for advising its stores to remain open during state and local lockdowns and asserting that it’s an “essential retailer.”

 

Did They Help? assigns or subtracts points from individuals and companies based on claims that readers send in with relevant backing information, usually in the form of stories published by media outlets.

 

As of early April 2020, the biggest hero on the Did They Help? leaderboard was Target, which earned ten points for raising pay for employees during the pandemic; instituting dedicated shopping hours for vulnerable populations; and letting employees of their headquarters work from home.

 

The biggest zero on the leaderboard was… wait for it… President Donald Trump, with negative seven points.

 

Oddly, those ranked by Did They Help? who earn actual zeros get a rating of “It’s Complicated”, which details how their positive and negative actions have cancelled each other out.

 

See the Did They Help? website (scroll down a little to find the form through which you can make a nomination): https://didtheyhelp.com

 

See its FAQ page, which explains how its team awards and subtracts points: https://didtheyhelp.com/faqs/

 

See its Leaderboard page: https://didtheyhelp.com/leaderboards/

 

Donate to cover Did They Help?’s website-hosting costs: https://didtheyhelp.com/support-donations/

 

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!