NYC Duo Donates Commuting Fares to Laid Off Workers During Coronavirus

A pair of New York City residents set up a fund where New Yorkers who work from home can donate their commuting fares to laid-off workers in need of the money.

Chrisie Canny and Michele Sileo started the “Fare It Forward” campaign to encourage those who can work from home during the coronavirus crisis to donate their commuting or parking fares to people who have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs.

Canny, 47, and Sileo, 46, started the project on March 18, around the time New York City went dark. The pair had already raised more than $13,000 for 22 recipients nominated by the public using Survey Monkey, the New York Post reported.

“The nominees, we’ve found, are people who are genuinely giving, like they’d give the shirt off their backs, they’re described as the sweetest person, someone who would never ask for help and of course, those are the people who are now struggling,” Sileo, an attorney and assistant professor, told the Post.

The project initially aimed to help out-of-work salon, restaurant, and retail workers, but their mission has now expanded to anyone who does not have a job because of the coronavirus.

“I hope this money helps pay their rent, puts gas in their car, food on the table, birthday gifts for the kids. These are people who live paycheck to paycheck. To some, this is completely devastating. Let alone how they are feeling emotionally. We’re all home now, struggling. To not have a job, no money and be quarantined? It makes you feel like crap,” said Canny, an entrepreneur.

Recipients include a laid-off Applebee’s worker at the Staten Island Mall and a laid-off Container Store employee who recently lost a loved one due to the coronavirus.

“They’re all emotional and appreciative of it. Most of them, it’s hard to ask for help. They expressed how it’ll help to pay for bills and get through unemployment. I keep in touch with all of them — we talk on messenger,” Canny said.

New York state has at least 238,197 active coronavirus cases in the state, with 17,671 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.