Lizzo Sends Lunch, Philly Gets Ballooned, and More Good Things That Happened This Week
Because it can’t all be bad news.
Lizzo performing at the Wells Fargo Center in 2019. She just donated lunch to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania during the Philadelphia coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)
There’s been plenty of bad news in Philly (and everywhere) this week, thanks to the coronavirus. So we wanted to look around and see if there were any glimmers of hope. If you see some for yourself or have some good news to share in all of this, shoot us an email.
Lizzo Donates Lunch to the Coronavirus Front Lines
Emergency room staff at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania got a big surprise earlier this week: free lunch, courtesy of Lizzo.
The hospital was one of several around the country that got free lunch from the hitmaker.
“You’re fighting for us, you’re loving for us, you’re healing for us,” Lizzo said in a message. “It doesn’t go unnoticed. We are all out here praying for y’all, thinking of you every single day. The least I can do is send y’all some lunch … I hope it puts a smile on your face and I hope that you have a great, great, great day — because I love you.”
(“Cuz I Love You” is one of Lizzo’s biggest hits.)
So where did Lizzo order the food that was delivered to HUP? No, not one of Philly’s iconic restaurants or sandwich shops. The food came from the Delaware-born sandwich chain Capriotti’s.
Here’s How You Can Be Like Lizzo
Lizzo isn’t the only one who has been sending food to local hospital workers. Some local restaurants have gotten into the game as well. Among them, Northern Liberties stalwart Standard Tap.
“The day after we closed, I just decided, let’s make some food for these doctors and nurses,” says Standard Tap owner William Reed. “So we made 24 lunches with brownies for dessert and brought them over to Jefferson. Somebody came out all covered up, took the food and then disappeared back into the hospital. By the time I got back to the restaurant, I was seeing photos of these smiling nurses with the food, and we just decided to keep it going.”
Reed says that his staff is now delivering 48 boxed meals each day to Jefferson — 24 around lunchtime and 24 at night. The menu includes sandwiches like free-range chicken salad, roast beef with micro-greens and house made mustard on Lost Bread rolls, and, of course, some vegan options. Standard Tap patrons and friends and family have been donating money to keep the Jefferson staff fed.
“Some days, donations have covered the full delivery,” says Reed. “But we still make it happen on the days that they don’t.”
If you want to send a Standard Tap boxed meal to a Jefferson staffer, just call the restaurant at 215-238-0630 and let them know. Each box costs $14, delivery included.
Fairmount Gets Ballooned
A couple of weeks ago, a local florist flower-bombed Rittenhouse Square. Now, Fairmount-based “balloon stylist” (yes, that’s apparently a thing) Jace Florescio is balloon-bombing Philadelphia with rainbows of balloons.
Like so:
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You can follow along on Instagram via @florescioevents.
Just Say Yass
Last week, we told you that Brian Roberts (meaning the head honcho at Comcast) and his wife donated $5 million to buy computers for students in the Philadelphia School District. And we ended that report with “Keep them coming,” meaning the big donations.
Well, Jeff Yass (as in the head honcho at secretive Bala Cynwyd investment firm Susquehanna International Group) and his better half just pledged $2.6 million to purchase Chromebooks for local kids.
The pledge is part of the new Jump-Start Philly Schools Fund. Other pledges came from the Lenfest Foundation ($1 million) and the McCausland Foundation ($200,000). And the goal is to raise at least $6 million. To learn more about how you can help, visit the Philadelphia School Partnership website.
