Gambian Youth Organization works with Airbnb on Accommodation Assistance of Bronx Fire Victims
NEW YORK – The Gambian Youth Organization (GYO), a Bronx-based nonprofit organization, announced today that it will be receiving funding from Airbnb to continue helping victims of the Fordham Heights 5-alarm fire that destroyed the homes of many of its community members. As current housing support for many of the victims is soon to expire and moving into a shelter remains a possible reality for many, funding from Airbnb will help the Gambian Youth Organization directly connect victims with a temporary place to stay.
“With many displaced families as a result of this tragedy, we know that housing is the most daunting issue facing families right now. We are proud to partner up with Airbnb to help accommodate the urgent needs of our community,” said Salim Drammeh, President of the Gambian Youth Organization.
“We’re proud to be a part of the work GYO is doing to help victims of this horrible tragedy and hope this assistance will quickly provide victims with places to stay so that they can focus on rebuilding their lives,” said Kelly Fay, Public Policy Manager for Airbnb.
Victims in need of a place to stay can contact: [email protected]
About the Gambian Youth Organization:
The Gambian Youth Organization (GYO) was formed in 2002 by New York City-based Gambians as a non-profit organization with a vision to harness the rich experiences of first generation immigrants and share these experiences with young and arriving generations with a view to creating responsible, contributing and active members of the community. GYO’s founders took the opportunity to challenge the perception, misconception and stereotypical views and project Gambian Youths with a moral sense of community belonging.
GYO’s goal is to inspire youth to build on positive change within our communities and bring forward our rich diverse cultural heritage to New York. GYO wants to channel the power harvested from our shared positive experiences with a vision to increase: access to educational resources for the community, access health education and information, organize cultural outreach programs through social events and gatherings and cultivate a sense community partnership
About Airbnb:
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, 90 percent of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. In 2019, Airbnb directly supported 300,000 jobs in just 30 destinations, averaging nine jobs for every 1,000 guest arrivals. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities.
