Siri Sparks a Gift

“Siri, I need to know who to donate to to find the cure for COVID-19.”

Those are the words Sharon Henderson spoke into her iPhone in late March. The third option Siri offered – behind the World Health Organization and a plasma bank associated with the FDA – was Johns Hopkins. And despite having no other connection to the institution, Johns Hopkins is where she decided to give.

“The reason that I wanted to donate in the first place is, first of all, I’m kind of old. I’m not ancient, but I’m pretty old!” Henderson says with a laugh on a call from her home in Dania Beach, Fla.

The second reason she gave stems from a philosophy she and her late husband, who died in 2010, shared – to give back to those in less fortunate circumstances than their own. In recent years, Henderson has worked in support of animal welfare causes across South Florida, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted her to consider giving to a new cause.

“I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do (with COVID-19),” she says, “but I knew I wanted to help at least a little.”

She spent some time looking through Johns Hopkins’ online coronavirus resources, including information about the researchers looking to better understand the disease, how to treat it, and how to prevent it.

“There were a couple of things I read and I said to myself, ‘Yes, this is the right place,’” Henderson says. “I have a lot of faith that Johns Hopkins has the ability and the background to solve the COVID crisis.”