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Beyoncé donated $6 million to COVID-19 relief + More Culture News You Missed This Week

Here's what Beyoncé, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and the cast of Parks & Recreation are doing for COVID-19 relief.

Beyoncé donated $6 million to COVID-19 relief
Through her charitable initiative BeyGOOD, Beyoncé is providing assistance to essential workers who have been working tirelessly through the pandemic. The foundation has partnered with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall effort to provide $6 million to organizations providing basic necessities as well as mental health services to communities of colour. These organizations include No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen and National Alliance on Mental Health.

“Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD recognizes the immense mental and personal health burdens being placed on essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our major cities, African-Americans comprise a disproportionate number of workers in these indispensable occupations, and they will need mental health support and personal wellness care, including testing and medical services, food supplies and food deliveries, both during and after the crisis,” reads an official statement from the foundation.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis launched Quarantine Wine
Everyone seems to be drinking more these days, including Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, so the couple decided to find a way to continue drinking wine while also raising money for COVID-19 relief. In partnership with Nocking Point Wines in Washington and Battle Creek Vineyards in Oregon, they’ve selected a Pinot Noir as their charity-focused Quarantine Wine. 100 per cent of the profits from the sale of this wine will be donated to charities “that are focusing on getting PPE into the country, charities that are helping feed kids, businesses that are in distress,” said Kunis and Kutcher in a video posted to Instagram. The charities personally selected by the couple for this cause are Give Directly, which provides cash grants to SNAP families in hard-hit areas; Direct Relief, which donates medical equipment and PPE to healthcare workers; the Frontline Responders Fund, which delivers PPE and ventilators to hospitals and other healthcare facilities; and America’s Food Fund, a collaboration between Feeding America and chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen.

Sonos launched a streaming radio service
Audio company Sonos has launched a free, ad-supported radio service with over 60,000 radio stations from around the world. Sonos customers can access 31 different genre stations handpicked by a team of curators, DJs and artists, as well as the brand’s signature station, Sonos Sound System, featuring a stream of new and well-known music, behind-the-scenes stories, and guest radio hours hosted by artists like Nancy Whang, Jamila Woods and Vegyn. In addition, there are artist stations curated by some of music’s biggest names like Thom Yorke and Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, featuring song selections inspired by their own influences and obsessions. While internet radio stations from partners like iHeartRadio will be available to all Sonos customers with the latest software update, Sonos Sound System, artist stations and genre stations are currently available only in the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Australia.

Parks & Recreation announced a special reunion episode
The Parks & Rec crew is reuniting for a special coronavirus episode to raise money for charity. The one-off episode, set in present day, will centre around Leslie Knope and her colleagues’ efforts to deal with social distancing. Along with Amy Poehler, who played Knope in the hit series, cast members Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Rob Lowe, Aziz Ansari, Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Jim O’Heir and Retta are slated to reprise their roles. The episode will air on April 30th at 8.30pm ET on NBC, and aims to raise money for Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which is providing additional assistance to food banks around the country during the pandemic.

And ICYMI: Canada’s biggest names in media, entertainment, sports and more are coming together this Sunday for a virtual event to raise money for Food Banks Canada and to show support for the country’s frontline workers.

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