USHCA Secures 240,000 masks from Wanxiang Automotive
While COVID-19 cases increased rapidly in coastal cities like NYC and Los Angeles, many cities in the heartland states braced for an eventual impact in their local community. Their preparation efforts quickly ran into a hurdle – not enough PPE. U.S. Heartland China Association, through our connections with various heartland mayors, organizations, and state governments, started to get calls about PPE. Our team quickly responded by reaching out to foundations and companies with a history of community giving to seek their help.
One of the companies that responded to our call for support was Wanxiang Automotive Components, based in Illinois. Wanxiang has had a long history of giving back to the local community, ranging from sponsoring American student trips to China, to their commitment to donate solar panels to one-thousand schools. The Wanxiang team has been working on a large donation of PPE for the city of Chicago and some states where they have business operations. However, it was getting increasingly difficult to bring in the PPE given the supply chain disruptions following global COVID-19 reactions.Â
Six Heartland States Receive 240,000 Masks
Despite all the logistical challenges, after a meeting between the Chairman and CEO of our nonprofit, former Governor of Missouri, Bob Holden and the President of Wanxiang Group, Mr. Ni Ping, Wanxiang committed to donate 240,000 masks to USHCA. Through our close partnerships in the heartland region, six recipient organization in six heartland states were identified, and on May 4th, the 240,000 masks donated by Wanxiang cleared the customs in Chicago and headed out to six Heartland states.
- Missouri State Senator, Jamilah Nasheed, accepted the donation on behalf of the communities in the city of St. Louis. Some of the masks shipped to Missouri will also support the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, a coalition of 95 mayors along the Mississippi river.
- Executive Director of Mississippi State Conference NAACP, Dr. Corey Wiggis, accepted the masks to be distributed to Mississippi communities in need.
- Louisiana – Through partnership with American Federation of Teachers, Larry J. Carter Jr, President of Louisiana Federation of Teachers and School Employees (LFT) accepted the masks. LFT will be distributing these masks to local communities and first responder organizations.
- South Dakota United Food Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 304A accepted the mask donations to be distributed to many local organizations in need.
- Additional donations were made to the state of Colorado and Tennessee. Both Governor Jared Polis of Colorado and Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee expressed their appreciation of this donation in thank-you letters.
You can read the thank you letters from the different states here.Â
Thank You to All Our Partners
In addition to this large donation from Wanxiang, USHCA has received PPE donations from numerous other Chinese American foundations and donors such as Guardians of Angeles, Committee of 100, and SupChina. On behalf of the communities in the heartland states, we applaud the generosity of all our PPE donors.Â
Contribute to USHCA's PPE Drive for the Heartland
Our team continues to channel these PPE donations to a growing number of hospitals and clinics in the heartland states including Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, and Nebraska. We invite you to contribute to this life-saving effort by making a tax-deductible donation through our PayPal Giving Fund.