Lyft, the world needs more people like you. One of the globe’s biggest ridesharing apps has launched a big donation program in Puerto Rico, aimed to helping communities.
The ridesharing app’s chief policy officer Jerry Golden told Ridesharing Forum, “We believe that transportation should never be a barrier to building a better life. And today marks a new chapter in that mission where we’re officially launching Roundup and donate here in Puerto Rico, empowering every rider to become a changemaker in their own communities through every single trip.”
How does this program work? Well, drivers first choose one of the three local non-profit organizations that Lyft has tied up with. Each time the trip neds, the app will round up to the nearest dollar and will be granted to the non-profit organization they selected.
“This is more than micro donations. This is micro activism. Every ride becomes a community investment. Every dollar you grind up is a vote for the Puerto Rico that you’d like to see in the future. Together, we’re not just moving people, we’re moving Puerto Rico forward,’’ Golden further stated.
Those three non-profits working for this donation mission are the Fondo Flamboyán Para Las Artes, El Comedor de la Kennedy, and Sociedad Pro Hospital del Niño de Puerto Rico. Each of these organizations is dedicated to help Puerto Rico champion its causes, such as the arts and pediatric care.
One of the non-profit organizations, Sociedad Pro Hospital del Niño, released its official statement on this donation project, “Every child deserves access to the care and support they need for their full development, and this partnership with Lyft brings us closer to that goal. When Puerto Rican families round up and donate through Lyft, they are directly supporting long-term care, therapeutic services, and specialized education for children and youth with special needs across the island.”
Apart from this donation program, the ridesharing app likewise announced it is distributing $7,500 to the three entities of the program, with $5,000 more for the Puerto Rico Museum of Art and the University of Puerto Rico.
“The community is our heart. We’re here for the long journey ahead, investing directly in Puerto Rico, connecting you to the people, things you love and want to do, and helping you celebrate what makes this island so extraordinary”, Golden expounded.
Meanwhile, in other Lyft news, it is devastating to hear that a Lyft driver in San Antonio was recently ambushed. They testified that a gun was pointed at their head.
Latino Lyft driver Naazir Hinojosa was looking for passengers on the road at 1 a.m. He accepted a ride request near the John F. Kennedy Pool & Park on Southwest 28th Street. When he arrived, he got a message from the rider saying he was in the wrong location.
He approached what he thought was the right location, but was approached by three men. One of them was carrying a rifle. Before he even knew it, one of the me pointed the gun at his head.
Naazir Hinojosa was behind the wheel around 1 a.m. when he accepted a ride request near the John F. Kennedy Pool & Park on Southwest 28th Street. But when he arrived, he received a message from the rider saying he was in the wrong location.
“The first shot just ran right through my window, went straight into my windshield went past my face. Immediately, just gunshots coming through the window, bouncing off the car, it was traumatic,” Hinojosa recalled.
He tried to run away, but bullets peppered his car, swerving left and right in an attempt to dodge gunfire and break the suspects’ line of sight. He got the gunshots, but fortunately, he came out alive.