Arts & Entertainment
Hicham Aboutaam: Supporting Those Who Support Front Line Workers
Hicham Aboutaam "In these times where everything makes a difference, it's a privilege to be a part of First Responders First."
When the dust settles from the crisis we’ve all lived through with COVID-19, many of us will be rethinking our interactions and our spending. After being confined to our houses for so long, we may find that we enjoyed certain things about this time period, and certain people that we saw (or didn’t see). We may have appreciated how some people dealt with their stress, or we may have been turned off by the interactions we had with others. One behavior that will hopefully
influence a lot of people is charitable giving and generosity. Business leaders who rose above their own plight to help others are to be admired and supported.
It was last April, when COVID had just reached New York and was putting the population into a panic, when Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, Thrive Global and
the CAA Foundation got together. Their goal was to support first responders in their role and to show their appreciation for the work these frontline workers were doing. They announced support for #FirstRespondersFirst, their new initiative.
I am the president of Electrum, the exclusive agent for Phoenix Ancient Art. I have been surrounded by the world of antiquities since he I was a small child, watching my father start the business. Today, the location at 725 5th Avenue is an oasis for admiring the beauty of the ancient world. Their collection includes statues, jewelry and other pieces that helped to form Greek, Roman and Byzantine worlds and cultures from Mesopotamia, the Near East, Egypt and beyond. Their works include items that span more than 7000 years of human history and welcome viewers to admire and to own a piece of this history.
Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Understanding the urgency in the present, I would like to explain why I got involved in the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative.
"It is times like these that we need to come together as human beings, especially in New York City, and support the people that are risking their lives every day on the front lines of this pandemic. We have already begun to raise funds with a sale on www.e-Tiquities.com. The percentage of the proceeds were sent to the fund using their online portal and we urge our clients to visit the #FirstRespondersFirst website to join in our efforts and donate as well."
We're a company with eyes on the ancient past focusing on the present and future of those around them. The #FirstRespondersFirst initiative has provided essential protective equipment, accommodations, child care, mental health support, food and more to the social workers, nurses, doctors and others who risked their lives during COVID-19 for the rest of us.
