It’s hard to believe that it has been an entire year since the world was plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic. With your support from the very beginning, we have donated over 4 million articles of PPE, and anticipate hitting our 5 million mark by April 2021. Donations continue to pour in, and we are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to work with so many people across the country to fulfill this mission of fighting the spread of COVID. Over the past couple of months, we’ve shipped face shields, hand sanitizers, both medical-grade and cloth masks, KN95s, isolation gowns, disinfectant supplies and gloves all over the US and internationally, to healthcare workers in hard-hit African countries.
The constant outpour of generosity in both monetary and PPE donations toward our mission- and your trust in our stewardship of these donations- is humbling, and we strive to be as transparent with our readers and supporters alike. The distribution of donations sees its highest costs in shipping, and we’ve been fortunate to move equipment all over the world via discounted rates through our carrier UPS. Even with their support, on average, the shipment of a single box of PPE items depending on weight and final destination can range anywhere from $10-$100, with international donations costing more. As PPE donation demands of healthcare facilities has gradually decreased with the stabilization of the hospital and healthcare supply chain and the rollout of COVID vaccines, our primary focus has been in support of the safe reopening of schools nationwide and operation of mass vaccination sites and clinics. With these goals in mind, we’ve partnered with new non-profits and COVID task forces to continue providing healthcare workers, teachers, and volunteers with the necessary PPE to keep these initiatives running.
Rounding this first year of COVID and working hard in this mission to get PPE to the frontlines, we’ve come to better understand the virus, its economic and health impacts, the criticality of protective equipment and the hurdles small organizations face at every level of PPE acquisition and personnel safety. We recognize the large disparities in access to essential resources in vulnerable populations such as minority ethnic groups, the homeless, the elderly, those with disabilities or debilitating conditions, veterans, and undocumented immigrants. As such, we have done our best to engage in protective equipment shortages where these gaps go unfilled and underrepresented, by providing PPE to food banks, homeless shelters, and free clinics. With the help of our distribution partners, we’ve shipped PPE to over 500 organizations, and connect with more organizations in need every day.
We at DonatePPE.org are proud of these accomplishments made possible with your help: it is through our supporters that we can keep running at full speed to provide PPE to those who need it most. We are tremendously blessed and grateful for your continued generosity, and we intend to continue this work that strengthens our communities. Together, we can stop the spread of COVID-19.
– Dr. Karen Tsai and Dr. Kevin Tsai