As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, our hearts go out to everyone who has been or will be impacted by this crisis. We are committed to swift and comprehensive action to protect the safety and well-being of our employees, tenants and the broader community. First and foremost, we are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) in Canada, as well as local health department recommendations across all of our markets to guide our response.
The information below is a snapshot of some of our efforts to date, which we will continue to update as we navigate this unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation.
Quite simply, our employees are what make our company great. We are committed to taking care of the more than 350 talented individuals who work here during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. As the CDC, the BCCDC and local health authorities communicated the potential severity of the virus, we quickly suspended all non-essential work travel, mandated that employees who can work remotely do so, and rolled out comprehensive IT support to ensure a smooth transition. Despite this crisis, our employees, regardless of their role or tenure, are continuing to receive their full pay and benefits. We have increased our employee wellness resources, and fully support and comply with the enhanced paid sick leave policies adopted by local governments where we operate.
We support our tenants and have been in regular communication with them to encourage adoption of CDC and BCCDC guidelines and share updates on our response. We implemented enhanced cleaning procedures in which we more than doubled the frequency with which we wipe down common areas (e.g., lobbies, elevators, entryways) each day in our buildings, began using hospital-grade disinfectants for common area cleanings, and increased the number of hand-sanitizing stations across our portfolio. If we receive timely notification of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in one of our buildings, we work swiftly to ensure a deep cleaning of the affected tenant suite occurs along with all common areas where that person may have spent time. We also proactively alert all tenants in the impacted building about the confirmed case.
As local authorities have implemented orders to limit business operations to only those defined as essential, we have ensured that all our properties remain safe, secure and operational for those businesses. As federal and local governments rolled out relief efforts to support small businesses, we have shared resources from a variety of agencies including the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Government of Canada and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. We are also fully supportive of and in compliance with the various regional COVID-19 eviction moratoria and committed to working collaboratively with our tenants to navigate these difficult times.
We take great pride in being a responsible corporate citizen and supporting the communities in which we operate. We have proactively reached out to local officials to explore ways we can support efforts around COVID-19, including offering up our unleased space for critical response work.
COVID-19 has exacerbated homelessness and housing affordability issues across our markets, both in terms of the current health crisis and its economic impacts. Homelessness and affordable housing support and solutions are critical to the long-term vitality of our communities and a key focus area for our philanthropic efforts. We have donated $100,000 to organizations working at the intersection of COVID-19 and homelessness in our core markets. These organizations include the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the Tipping Point Community in Northern California, the Seattle Foundation and the Vancouver Foundation.
We have also joined the #FeedtheFrontLine movement in our communities by purchasing hundreds of meals in our core markets from our restaurant tenants, where possible, and nearby restaurants, cafés and caterers. We then help to deliver those meals to healthcare, homeless shelter and other frontline workers. We are pleased to show this small token of our appreciation while supporting local businesses.