Leaders stepping up and companies getting creative amid coronavirus outbreak

MLB and Fanatics team up to make protective equipment for health-care workers  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE FRI, MAR 27, 2020 TECH, TRANSFORMATION AND THE FUTURE OF WORK EDITOR'S NOTE Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up. Good afternoon, As we approach the end of week 2 of quarantine and try to adjust to this new working life, one by one, companies of all sorts are stepping up, shifting production lines to make a lasting impact on what could be a lasting new reality. Fanatics went from producing MLB jerseys to masks and gowns. Crocs announced they'd start donating shoes to health care workers. Craft distillers and brewers are making sanitizer. Fashion and costume designers are starting to sew masks. GM, Ford, Tesla and others will begin making ventilators. TV providers and news outlets are allowing anyone to access content. Even former Housewives star Bethenny Frankel is stepping up in the battle against COVID-19 by donating 1 million masks (we have no idea why she has this supply). The list goes on. While a week ago it may have felt like doomsday, it seems as though we've turned a page and people are starting to unify and help out, and as dark as the times may be, that is a great thing. This Thursday, we'll be bringing you an interactive livestream, tackling key questions for leaders, including crisis management and communication, managing a newly remote workforce, and best practices on how to keep employees, and yourself, safe in the workplace. Learn more about our exciting lineup of speakers joining us from their home offices, and tune in. KEY STORIES MLB and Fanatics team up to make protective equipment for health-care workers Fanatics, the largest retailer of official sports merchandise, is using its Major League Baseball manufacturing facility to produce masks and gowns for health-care workers in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Michael Rubin, executive chairman of Fanatics, joins "Squawk Box" to discuss. Craft distillers and brewers making sanitizer are lobbying Congress and FDA to keep producing Distillers and brewers have launched efforts to donate or sell at cost the alcohol needed to make sanitizer under the World Health Organization guidelines. But these efforts face two hurdles that the industry is working to resolve. Google is offering $340 million in free ads for small businesses as part of coronavirus help package It's the latest tech company to donate funds toward businesses suffering after COVID-19's economic effect. Udacity offers free tech training to laid-off workers due to the coronavirus pandemic Online learning platform Udacity is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by offering free tech training to workers laid off as a result of the pandemic. JOIN US REGISTER CNBC EVENTS CNBC Events @CNBCEVENTS Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel   Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy CNBC Events   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS