Millions of people are on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but being safe at home doesn't mean that people are powerless to help during the global crisis. In fact, a new website started by Days of our Lives star Arianne Zucker (Nicole Walker) aims to give fans a streamlined place to give back alongside some of the NBC soap's biggest stars.
Called Daytime Cares, the website raises donations for nonprofit organizations, gives voice to local charitable efforts and group volunteerism, shines a spotlight on everyday heroes, and assists individuals who are struggling for resources during the pandemic.
States the organization's official website, "Daytime Cares is a collective of TV and Film actors and actresses who are using their celebrity and platforms to assist the most vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic. The companion website Daytimecares.com seeks to be a leading partner for charitable giving, whether in the form of financial contributions to reputable charities, donating blood, volunteering, or providing other material assistance such as personal protective equipment to the healthcare community and others most at risk."
Says co-founder Zucker of how she came up with the idea with Sonia Blangiardo-Goins (a DAYS director) and Bob Wall (media sales/marketing executive), "[We] talked about creating a website where people could go to sort of have a mash of nonprofits that are doing an amazing job right now during this pandemic and to help direct people.... It's about creating a community of people who very much want to be a voice for those who just don't know what to do."
As such, fans can donate to nonprofits through Daytime Cares -- and they can rest assured that their money is going to vetted, trustworthy, and helpful causes.
"We're not partnering with [the organizations on the website]; we don't touch any money. It all goes through the links that you click to get to the organizations," Zucker explains to Soap Opera Digest. "It's all isolated in one website instead of everyone having to search, so that's our goal is to make that grow. It could be for the long haul. We don't know. This is that kind of website that's just going to keep building and keep growing and keep offering any kind of information that we can to help people out there."
For more information about Daytime Cares and to find out how you can help, visit the organization's official website. You can also watch some of the explanatory videos featuring participating stars, including Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel Jonas), Sal Stowers (Lani Price), Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Kyle Lowder (Rex Brady), and Eric Martsolf (Brady Black).
Zucker has a long history of spearheading volunteer and nonprofit work. The actress, who has been playing DAYS' Nicole since 1998, co-created the non-profit organization Arrow-Heart Adventure Camps in 2007 with her brother, Todd Zucker. Operating out of the small town of Weiser, Idaho, the organization enriches teen's lives through outdoor adventure.
What do you think about Zucker creating Daytime Cares along with several other daytime community members? What are your thoughts on the site and its mission? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
