Like millions of others, during the pandemic, Sofia Moncayo was furloughed from her job at a construction company but despite her own plight, she decided to help. In March 2020, a food distribution started in her New York City neighborhood and within a month, Moncayo took the reins of the food distribution program run through the Mosaic West Queens Church and expanded it to serve hundreds of people.
Through the program, dozens of volunteers distribute more than 1,000 boxes of food to families twice a week. “I think helping others has to do something to your brain chemically because if we had not being doing everything that we’re doing, I think this would have been a much scarier time,” she said. “Being able to dig in and help others, it really gives you perspective and helps you believe that you’re going to be OK too.”
Moncayo remains unemployed and she and her husband currently owe five months of rent for their martial arts studio in their New York City neighborhood. Most of the food is donated by a neighborhood restaurant and other sources. There’s also been help from the Farmers to Families Food Box Program overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Moncayo also continues to lead fundraisers to help those affected by the pandemic.
Many of the volunteers who joined in the food distribution she runs also lost their jobs during the pandemic. They’ve found a way to give back to their community during this difficult time and make sure everyone in need feels welcomed.
Sunnyside resident Carol Sullivan lost her stage manager job when Broadway theaters closed because of the virus. She was hesitant at first about receiving food from a pantry, but she said that Moncayo and the other volunteers made her feel welcome. “It has been a link to the community that I didn’t have before and it also saves a lot of anxiety over having to have money to pay for food over having to pay for the bills.” Sullivan said.
Moncayo comes from a humble background. Along with her family, she used to get in line in such pantries in order to have some food to eat. While things are uncertain for her, she still wants to give it back to the institution that helped her live and become who she is. “One of the things that we wanted to make sure is that we don’t look at people on the pantry line as people that need food, and really focus on, ‘hey, these are our neighbors.”
Residents in need have been able to pick up a wide variety of food items from the pantry such as canned food, fruit, vegetables, pasta, and prepackaged goods. Other items include baby diapers and infant formula. The organizers of the Sunnyside food pantry have been recognized by an international non-profit organization for their hard work. Several were named recipients of the Neighborhood Everyday Hero Award by the Kiwanis International Queens West Division for providing food to struggling residents throughout the pandemic. The award recognizes people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help residents during the COVID-19 shutdowns without expecting anything in return.
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According to the National Restaurant Association, more than 110,000 restaurants across the country have closed temporarily or for good as a result of the pandemic. One Wisconsin restaurant owner is well aware of the effects the pandemic has had on the restaurants in his community and he decided to help. He is using his own money to help other struggling local restaurants. Adolfo Melendez, owner of a Tex-Mex restaurant El Mezcal in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, has bought more than $2,000 in gift cards to restaurants in his community to raffle off to his customers. “If you help one person and another person helps another-that will help a lot. There’s probably 35% of the restaurants that keep struggling here.”
Melendez said he got the idea to help his fellow restaurant owners after a local realtor company helped his restaurant at the beginning of the pandemic. “They did something where people voted for their favorite restaurant and I got second place so they bought $300 in gift cards from me,” he said. “Right after that I was like I’ll probably do something similar.”
Melendez opened his restaurant just weeks before the pandemic hit so he felt first hand, the devastating effects of the pandemic grinding the restaurant industry to a complete halt. Despite a harsh beginning for his restaurant, the one generous act of another local business sparked his determination to pay it forward when he was able to. He said it’s important to help keep small businesses open during the pandemic because they are the staples of the community. “That’s part of what keeps us alive. You can go to Applebee’s, or you can go to Pizza Hut but it isn’t the same like when you go to this little diner or pizza joint. The whole idea is just to give other opportunities. I think it’s important to support a small business, that’s what makes this little town so strong, you know? Because big companies come and go.”
At the end of 2020, he began to buy gift cards from local restaurants in his community and raffling them off to customers on his restaurant’s Facebook page. Winners received $20 gift card to a local restaurant. The receiving restaurants said they were thankful for Melendez’s generosity and they know that surviving the pandemic means working together. One owner, Pete Ananiadis of Olympia Family Restaurant said “It’s a smart idea, we appreciate what he has done for our community. In these Covid times, it’s very important to eat local, small mom and pop shops. He understands that, and for all of us right now it’s a tough time.”
Selling gift cards and offering food for take-out have been some of the only ways local mom-and-pop restaurants have been able stay in business throughout the past year as the pandemic has limited their opportunities. Even one gift card purchase can help the restaurant and the recipient push through another day of this pandemic. Imagine the effect if others pay it forward and keep this kindness going. Small acts of kindness like this is how communities support each other and get through a crisis. As for Melendez, he plans to have two more gift card giveaways on his restaurants Facebook page because he isn’t done inspiring others that they can help too.
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As temperatures dipped and snow fell, a 10-year-old boy decided to thank the front-line heroes battling the relentless coronavirus pandemic by clearing snow off their cars outside a Rhode Island hospital. He joined his mother’s friend Abbey Meeker in the bitter cold and cleaned off dozens of vehicles across the hospital’s parking lot as the massive winter storm slammed their state.
Christian Stone said “I was thinking they’ve been helping us a lot through this whole pandemic, and I figured why don’t we help them, you know? All day, every day the nurses here, they deal with the pandemic like COVID and they want to get home from work, so we thought we would make it a tiny bit easier for them by cleaning off their cars for them,” he said.
Meeker said it was Christian who came up with the idea after the last winter storm. “Christian wanted to do something good for nurses about a month ago when it stormed and he said next time it snowed, he wanted to clean cars off for nurses because of COVID. I told him I would come with him.” Meeker said she’s known Christian’s mom since grade school and thinks of him as a little brother. “Christian is wise beyond his years,” she said. “He’s my little partner in crime.”
Meeker said he always likes to help people and had been shoveling neighbors’ driveways for free before they went to the hospital. They headed to the Westerly Hospital at around shift change, when doctors, nurses and other staff members were walking to the parking lot. “We kind of made it a game.” When drivers used their remotes to start or unlock their cars, the duo would rush over to the car and clean it off as quickly as possible.
Christian said the nurses and other workers who came out to find the surprise and free car-cleaning service were really grateful. “It’s been cold but extremely fun seeing how happy they get. Some of them say, ‘Thank you so much,’ and I’m just really happy to see them happy. I feel like I actually helped someone out and that’s a really good feeling, when you know someone has been helped out. We want them to be able go home and see their family after a long day of work.”
Meeker said they ended up cleaning off about 80 cars in four different employee parking lots. Some people offered to pay, but they didn’t want the money. Meeker said Christian did get $20 because two insistent nurses told him they’d be mad if he didn’t accept it. Meeker admitted she really hates the snow and that they had to change clothes twice because they would get soaking wet in the freezing cold but she sucked it up because she knew how much it meant to Christian.
While the frontline workers at Westerly Hospital were blessed with Christian’s kind heart during this past storm, it’s clear Christian is blessed with someone like Meeker who encourages his kind heart and helps him see that even at the tender age of 10, he can make a difference in someone else’s day.
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Amid the pandemic, Texans experienced devastating effects of the recent polar vortex that their state is not equipped to handle. Thousands were left without power or heat for days as temperatures dipped and their roads were left dangerous to travel on. Businesses and homeowners are dealing with the damage of burst pipes and lost wages as many areas shut down. But while many families were literally left in the dark, there are always people finding ways to help others.
Raymond Garcia of Houston, Texas, found himself without power at home and decided to use his time helping others. He visited people in his community and helped fix their burst pipes. Garcia said he was inspired by the teaching of his mother, who died recently from COVID-19. “My mom always taught me, if you help and you give to people, God will always bless you,” he said. “And you know what, I’ve been blessed.” When the power outages meant a Foodarama grocery store in Houston could no longer accept credit and debit card payments, an unidentified man began handing out $20 bills to people waiting in the line. It’s estimated that the man who did not want to be identified, handed out nearly $500 that day. Meanwhile, in San Antonio TX, another good Samaritan at the Martini Ranch bar put on a free grill complete with lobster bisque for anyone in need of a meal. “Just grilling away out front to provide some people with a free hot plate,” he said in a social media post. “Stay safe out there San Antonio.”
Chelsea Timmons was making her last food delivery of the day in Austin TX, when her car got stuck on the frozen driveway of Nina Richardson and Doug Condon after sliding on the incline and hitting a bush. Timmons had planned to return home but when she called AAA, all their tow trucks were busy responding to emergencies. Richardson and Condon, strangers to her, offered her their guest room and Timmons ended up spending five nights there. Richardson and Condon worried that even if she made it home safely, she’d still be struggling upon returning to her home that had no power.
Bonnie Valdez of San Antonio posted to Facebook to say that she had found around $620 put through the door of her store after leaving a stack of around 140 water bottles outside of her store overnight for people to take during the crisis. Another Texan, Ryan Sivley said he didn’t hesitate to help when he spotted hundreds of drivers in need on the side of the icy roads in Austin. Sivley used his four wheel drive vehicles to rescue drivers stuck on the side of roads— all without asking for anything in return. “I’ve seen wreckers turning people away because they won’t pull them out due to liability. You need to stay in your car and just freeze to death? If I was in that spot, I would beg and hope that somebody would help me. So that’s what I did.”
Another Houston hero, Jim McIngvale, better known locally as Mattress Mack- opened two of his furniture stores to be used as warming centers. He urged extreme caution for those travelling to the showrooms, and said COVID-19 protocols would be followed, including mask-wearing, and food would be provided. “Anybody who needs it—whether they’re homeless, whether they lost power, whether it’s just wanting to come in and get something to eat—anybody wants to come in, we’re here for them.” McIngvale also turned over some of his stores to be used as evacuation centers during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 so he’s no stranger to helping his community during times of need.
While power has been restored in nearly two million homes, TX remains embroiled in the aftermath of the worst winter storm to strike the Lone Star State in decades. These are just a few examples of good people in the world who, during times of crisis, seek ways to help others even if they struggling through the same crisis. Even the smallest, self-less act gives others hope in the worst times and encourages others who make not think they can make a difference or have much to offer-realize that they can.
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Acclaimed author Stephen King is giving back to his home state. King is donating $6,500 to Farwell Elementary School, located in Lewiston, Maine, so that a group of students can publish their own books. King’s donation to the students in its Author Studies Program mean the students can publish the two books they’ve written.
As a group, the students — some of whom have graduated and are now in middle school — have been working on the books over the course of four years – working on the character development, plot, and overall storyline with the help of another Maine author, Gary Savage. The end result of their hard work is two books — an original and a sequel — and a 290-page manuscript. The books are ready for publication and with the help of King’s donation, they’ll be sent to a publishing company and available for purchase.
The books are about a boy’s adventures during the pandemic. Although the Author Study program has been in existence for several years, its focus shifted when the COVID-19 pandemic first reached Maine in March 2020. Savage and Martin moved the program online and tasked the students with taking Savage’s existing novel Fletcher McKenzie and the Passage to Whole and reworking it into an entirely new tale that incorporates their personal experiences in the coronavirus pandemic.
Principal Amanda Winslow said she’s proud of the students and what they’ve accomplished and praised the dedication of librarian Kathy Martin and author Gary Savage — who advised the students — towards making this happen. “I think it’s hard for kids to really understand the lesson of perseverance and patience, but they’ve been working on this book … and they’re definitely starting to reap the rewards of their hard work,” she said.
“Really incorporating their own experiences into the book, really that extra kind of feeling of this is a real book that you can really get your hands around, and once you start to read it you can’t put it down,” said Savage.
The books are expected to be printed and published in April of this year with the students in the program credited as contributing authors. “This student inspired book, ‘Fletcher McKenzie and the Passage to Whole,’ is a journey through Maine history and the wildly fantastic and healthy world of Whole. The major edits, written by elementary students, give the readers exactly what they crave at a time of Covid-19 fatigue and exhaustion — excitement, suspense, vividly funny characters, healthy eating, and subtle nutrition lessons, history lessons, respect for Native American history, and traditions, confusing and strange ventures, magical journeys, deadly danger, and closure.”
King’s donation is helping dozens of aspiring writers get one step closer to realizing their dreams. The $6,500 donation came through the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, a private nonprofit King and his wife launched in 1986 to help give back to local Maine communities. The foundation provides grants for projects in Maine that address the underlying causes and consequences of social and environmental problems. Giving priorities include health and human services, literacy, arts, and projects that will affect the most members of a community.
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With millions dependent on unemployment benefits and food bank lines reporting record numbers for turn out during food drops. The economic crisis set off by the pandemic has widened the chasm between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in the United States in new ways. The expanded rift has been accompanied by an outpouring of donations to local food banks, crowdfunding campaigns and other aid to financially devastated Americans.
The pandemic has shown that many people care about their neighbors and are willing to help. Amazon shareholder Mackenzie Scott’s $4 billion in charitable contributions, announced in December, may be the biggest. But there are plenty of Americans who are also chipping in, donating $10 or $20, some for the first time ever. About 70% of the donations made to campaigns on GoFundMe were under $50 this year, up from 40% in 2019.
Covid 19 Foundations have been established in every state in the US to help communities impacted by the pandemic. Donations to small and mid-sized charitable organizations were up 7.6% in the first nine months of 2020 over 2019. Charities received $2.47 billion in donations on Dec. 1, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving known as GivingTuesday, up 25% from 2019. Woodrow Rosenbaum, chief data officer for GivingTuesday said “People are giving like we’ve never seen before, what we have now is much more collective action.”
America’s Food Fund, started this year, raised over $44 million on GoFundMe, the largest campaign ever on the fundraising website. Long-time programs like the United States Post Office’s Operation Santa, which matches donors with needy families who send letters to a special North Pole address, report unprecedented support.
Across the globe, communities are raising funds for everything from Covid testing sites, necessities for those in need, food banks, helping small businesses, getting medical equipment for front line workers and even transport costs for farmers to get their harvest to hard hit areas hundreds of miles away. There are even people from different states banding together to help families facing eviction like The 1k Project.
GoFundMe itself even partnered with several foundations through their own COVID-19 Relief. They turn donations into grants for people and charities in need. Millions of people don’t know where their next meal will come from and people, even those who don’t have much themselves, are helping. Every donation, big or small, is helping others get through the pandemic.
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National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18- to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. They recently they deployed 230 energetic young adults from across the nation in 24 teams across the country, assisting community groups that are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic or implementing wildfire management in the West.
The youths piled into vans to begin a new adventure serving others through the NCCC. The training for AmeriCorps began in October and emphasized Covid-19 safety, teamwork, leadership development, and communication. From tackling food insecurity to providing affordable housing, these youth are bridging the gap by providing much-needed volunteers to areas in need.
Habitat for Humanity is one of the groups that is benefitting from the ten week deployments. Two of the teams are wielding hammers and power tools assisting with affordable home construction in Sacramento. Another team traveled to Stockton, California to help with food distribution and another group is in California assisting with fire management.
One team arrived in Oregon to work on similar projects and upkeep the environment while another is serving Salt Lake City, Utah. Bode Anderson-Brown discovered the most impactful aspect was getting out of his comfort zone. “It was so rewarding to talk to homeowners and know that because of the work I was doing, they are going to be safer and more protected from wildfires. I know that this is an experience I will take with me for the rest of my life. Talking to people on the phone and getting them the assistance they need… I previously considered this to be out of my wheelhouse, but have now discovered that I have a talent for it!”
Other groups are assisting the Health Department by supporting coronavirus testing sites and delivering hygiene supplies to residents. They each will graduate from NCCC on July 14th, after completing 3-5 long-term service projects investing over 1,700 hours. In exchange, members receive $6,395 to help pay for college or pay back existing student loans. The 10-month residential program funded by the U.S. government engages around 2,100 young people every year between the ages of 18 and 24. It was originally envisioned by a bipartisan group of Senators and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
The NCCC program was loosely based on the depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In some respects, NCCC teams resemble their CCC predecessors, who were also required to function under rugged conditions for prolonged periods and engage in strenuous conservation and wildfire-fighting projects, flood control, and disaster relief. The main difference between the two is unlike the original CCC, the NCCC was not created to be a public work relief program, but rather was designed to help communities meet self-identified needs through service projects and develop leadership skills in its participants.
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Chicago restauranteur Robert Magiet was driving across town one morning when he spotted a shivering tamale vendor braving the frigid January temperatures of the “Windy City”. He made a spur of the moment offer she couldn’t refuse. Rather than let the woman wearing many layers of clothing to keep warm stay in the cold all day—Magiet bought out her entire day’s supply—close to 10 dozen tamales, gave her a big tip, and sent her on her way.
Magiet loaded up the tamales he’d purchased and distributed them to homeless people. Pleased with the outcome of the morning’s events, Magiet took to Facebook to see if he could continue the trend. “Anyone know of any Tamale Cart vendors that will be out this weekend in the cold weather? I went to Yolanda near Humboldt Park and bought her out so she could go home today. I’d love to do the same for other Vendors and distribute the Tamales to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Let me know of any leads please” he posted.
In the following days, armed with suggestions, Magiet bought up all the tamales from vendors at three different locations. And again, after generously tipping the sellers whose trade had been severely curtailed by both the weather and the lockdown, he distributed the tamales to people in need. Helping the hungry in his community is nothing new for Magiet.
After opening a Love Fridge community food pantry outside his TaKorea Cocina restaurant this past June, Magiet teamed up with the owners of Fatso’s Last Stand and Jack & Ginger’s restaurants to prep and deliver 1,300 Thanksgiving meals for the needy. After Christmas, he also partnered with Jason Vincent, owner of Logan Square eatery Giant, to man a food truck serving breakfast and lunch to the homeless.
He also partnered with his friend Taylor Hammond, owner of The StopAlong, a Bucktown pizzeria, to ask if he’d be willing to donate his kitchen once a week to help ease food insecurity for families in need. Knowing how much kids love pizza, Hammond readily agreed. “It’s like, I have a restaurant. I have food. I know people who have restaurants and food. Let’s help people who need food.” Magiet said.
Having seen firsthand the devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic had on his own industry, he feels lucky to be in a position to provide much-needed relief for those struggling to put food on the table. He says on average he purchases 15 dozen tamales for an average price of $16 a dozen. “At first they are in disbelief. They don’t understand why someone would want to buy so many tamales.”
Magiet plans to continue his tamale runs for the remainder of the winter. Pizzas are still on the table as well. “If somebody in our neighborhood is struggling, we all struggle. I’m not trying to save the world. I’m just trying to help people who need food. If I have the ability to go help somebody, I’m just going to go help somebody. To me, it’s literally that simple” Magiet said.
The food Magiet collects will be distributed to several Love Fridges locations around town, Breakthrough Urban Ministries in East Garfield Park, and to Franciscan Outreach’s homeless shelter in North Lawndale. If you’d like to help, donations can be made to Zelle at 773-807-0057 or venmo: @takoreacocina.
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The GameStop saga, which was initiated by a contingent of traders from Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets forum, has invited overwhelming attention — and scrutiny — to the world of day trading. The ‘crowd-vesting’ strategy paid off for the Reddit users who had banded together to buy GameStop stock. GameStop’s stock price went through the roof—from $43 to $325 in one week.
Other struggling companies such as American Airlines Group Inc. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. also saw stock prices rise and found themselves on the receiving end of liquidity to pay creditors. The stock market frenzy has given these companies a bail out that is bringing them back from the edge of bankruptcy.
Many Reddit investors also found themselves with a sizable profit, which inspired an idea of paying it forward. Hunter Kahn, a 20-year-old Cornell University mechanical engineering student raked in close to $30,000 in GameStop profits. While the bulk of that windfall will be spent financing his education, Kahn also used part of his newfound stash o’ cash to purchase and donate Nintendo Switch games and consoles valued at $2,000 to a local children’s hospital.
“As a beneficiary of the recent events on Wall Street I think it is important that myself and others pay forward our good fortune. I am proud to announce my humble donation of 6 Nintendo Switches and games to go with them to the Children’s Minnesota Hospital.”
He has now joined the ranks of another anonymous investor who recently donated ten Switches to a children’s hospital in Texas and others who have used their newly acquired funds to help cover people’s medical debts.
Another investor that profited from the trending buy in of Gamestop stock was maverick billionaire venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, who was an early executive at Facebook. His initial $115,000 purchase of GameStop shares turned into a $500,000 payout. Palihapitiya announced that he bought 50 call options in GameStop. GameStop’s stock has risen a massive 750% in 2021 as online retail investing group WallStreetBets drove the stock up.
He also announced he will donate his entire payout to the Barstool Fund, a new COVID-19 charity that gives cash payments to small businesses who are about to go out of business. “I want to announce that I’m taking all the profits that I made plus my original position—so I’m gonna take $500,000—and I’m gonna donate to the Barstool Fund for small businesses,” Palihapitiya said. The Barstool Fund, founded by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, raises money to support struggling small businesses during the pandemic and “save as many jobs as possible,” according to the Fund’s website. So far, it has raised nearly $33 million from 205,525 supporters to fund 187 businesses. Recipients include bowling alleys, salons, with the overwhelming majority being restaurants and bars.
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After Dr. Alex Oshymansky, a radiologist in Dallas, TX started a public-benefit company to combat the exploding prices of certain prescription drugs, he attracted a new partner—Shark Tank billionaire investor Mark Cuban. Oshymansky started in 2015 with Osh’s Affordable Pharmaceuticals and a million dollars in investment capital. Four years later, the new partnership is moving forward under the name Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Co, and donating medicine to those in need.
Mark Cuban has been outspoken about his disdain of the mixture of FDA demands for approval, and drug company greed creating soaring prices for drugs, making them unaffordable to many Americans. Now under Cuban’s brand name, the private-label arrangement allows Oshymansky to buy from third party suppliers, take care of the labeling and branding laws himself, and sell it at a serious discount with just a 15% mark-up for the business expenses.
This partnership allowed the pair to lower the cost of an anti-parasitic medication called albendazole from its normal U.S. price range of $225-$500, down to just $20. This proved especially valuable for Baylor College of Medicine, who needed thousands of doses of albendazole to complete a study they were doing on U.S. hookworm infections in the South.
“The Germ of the South,” was a catch-all term that characterized a curious lethargy and haziness of the brain, distended bellies, and emaciated shoulder blades, found across the Deep South during the 20th century. Today, American hookworm still infects large numbers of people, particularly children, due to poor sanitation and poverty. A study done in Lowndes County, Alabama of 24 homes found that 34% of stool samples contained the parasite, which is killed rather quickly by albendazole.
Cuban and Oshymansky donated the first 10,000 doses of the company’s albendazole supply to Baylor and the author of the study, Dr. Rojelio Mejia, so that volunteers from Alabama to New York who test positive for hookworm could immediately purge the parasite from their bodies. “We found it deeply troubling that albendazole is extremely expensive in the United States, and are happy to be able to manufacture it for free for this research and provide it at significantly decreased prices to the rest of the U.S. market.”
Other drug companies estimate that the number of doses Cuban and Oshymansky donated would have cost $2 million, an overwhelming cost that would have kept the research from being conducted. Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs is aiming for 100 new drug offerings by the end of 2021, all with no hidden costs, no middlemen and no rebates only available to insurance companies. They’re also in the process of constructing their own brick-and-mortar pharmacy in Dallas where they hope to earn a profit on non-pharmaceutical items that can fund the lower cost formulations and offer drugs for rare diseases directly to patients or through outpatient facilities. If successful, Cuban and Oshymansky’s efforts could force drug companies that continue to overcharge their customers to lower their prices or go out of business.
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