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Hero Masks: Protection for Front-Line Workers

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During this coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, there are LOTS of UNSUNG HEROS working on the front lines, in regular contact with the public (you) providing medical services (doctors, nurses, technicians, staff), essential services (food services, e-commerce, drivers), or social services (foster care workers, homeless shelters) but can't get the physical protection (masks, respirators, gloves, sanitizer) that they need to protect themselves, their families, and the general public from getting and spreading infection.

We’re gonna fix that!

These organizations all rely on the typical supply chain of ordering from a distributor, who orders from someone else, who may order from someone else, who orders from an overseas factory who takes weeks to ship it by boat across the ocean.  This adds weeks of time and many layers of expenses and profits.

Because this stuff is now out of stock everywhere (and when it is in stock it gets bought by a few hoarders) we are bypassing the normal supply chain and going direct to the manufacturers and ordering in large lots directly using our donated funds.  We are delivering using the fastest available air freight so that we can get these protections into the community AS FAST AS POSSIBLE to limit the spread.  For institutions that want to place their own orders directly, we will be sharing sources and working with them to train their staff on how to order directly.  For others, we will do the ordering for them.

Funds will be used to purchase:

– Face masks for general low-risk use
– N-95 masks for high-risk use
– Nitrile (latex-free) gloves
– Hand sanitizer
– …whatever else is needed that we can get

We intend to distribute supplies to:

– Hospitals, urgent care facilities, and doctors offices
– Emergency responders (police, medical, hospitals, etc)
– Essential workers (cashiers, delivery, factory, truckers, etc.)
– At-risk populations (elderly, senior centers, homeless shelters, sick families, etc.)
– The general public (the more who have protection, the safer we all are)

We didn't expect to be able to offer it so quickly, but we are now operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization: Hero Masks Foundation.  Much thanks to the Players Philanthropy Fund (www.ppf.org) who helped us race through the process for being our financial sponsor and their help getting everything set up quickly!  Time is our biggest enemy right now, and they really came through for us all!

We will be posting details for transparency at The Hero Masks Project blog.

We have started off by advancing thousands of dollars in purchases of masks, KN-95 respirators, gloves and face shields from overseas suppliers (who have items in stock now) so we don't have to wait for donations and the lag time that would entail.   We are already in contact with local hospitals and are already fulfilling orders from a local mental health organization to protect their social workers who do home visits and can’t buy their supplies normally (their orders get canceled by distributors who are out of stock), homeless shelters, food kitchens, and many more...

Please join us in making this grow.

We are initially targeting our local county (Harford, MD) and will help out more broadly as budget and logistics allow.

We will post details of what we’re buying and how we’re using it online to provide transparency on The Hero Masks Project blog and our Facebook Group .

This is definitely a case of “Helping One Helps All”, and we appreciate your support. 

 


* IMPORTANT: Hero Masks Foundation Tax Receipts *

Thank you to all that are donating to our mission and spreading the word of our work in helping those affected by the COVID19 pandemic.

If you have sent in a donation of $250 or more and would like to receive an official tax receipt, please email us at [email redacted] with your contact information. Please include your full name and email address, or mailing address if you prefer the tax receipt to be sent via mail. 

Please be aware that if you do not supply us with this information, you will not be provided with a proper tax receipt. If we do not hear from you, your donation will be marked as being anonymous. If you have donated less than $250 to our mission, then please disregard as that amount does not meet the IRS minimum requirement.

Thank you! Stay safe and healthy!

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Donations 

  • Noah Gelber
    • $20 
    • 4 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $70 
    • 4 yrs
  • colleen murphy
    • $5 
    • 4 yrs
  • Stephen Wang
    • $54 
    • 4 yrs
  • Samantha Francis
    • $50 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Brian Gallagher
Organizer
Bel Air, MD
PPF FBO Hero Masks Foundation
Beneficiary

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