The SnugZ team die-cut the masks from medical-grade non-woven polypropylene, kitting them and providing the logistics to get the masks to a distribution center. Once there, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided, through its resources, home-based volunteers who sewed and assembled the masks. Then they were sterilized and distributed. SnugZ President Brandon Mackay, MAS, says two employees worked full time on this project, and he deployed $60,000 in capital expense to fulfill the order.
In April, supplier SnugZ USA added a new, critical project to its production schedule. The West Jordan, Utah-based company began die-cutting and kitting the first one million pieces of a five-million-piece order of medical-grade face masks for use by doctors, nurses and medics fighting COVID-19 on the front lines within the Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare Network (IHC) of hospitals and clinics, and the University of Utah Health Affiliate Network.
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Medley, Florida-based DiscountMugs partnered with IMC Health Medical Centers to donate 11,000 face masks to low-income seniors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The average age of recipients is 74 and most don’t have the means to buy the masks themselves. DiscountMugs CEO Sai Koppaka says, “We know that the public is having a hard time finding masks. In our conversations with IMC, we understood that patients were concerned about not having them and experiencing anxiety as a result. We are pleased that we were able to step in and provide them for this vulnerable population.”
The masks from DiscountMugs were delivered to patients’ homes along with instructions on how to safely use the mask and a contact number for any questions.
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Distributor American Solutions for Business packed meals for local children through the United Way’s Backpack Attack program. Typically, the program provides meals over the weekend for children in need. During the pandemic, there was a greater need due to temporary closures of businesses, unemployment and struggles for parents to make ends meet.
A team of about 15 home office employees, including founder and CEO Larry Zavadil, took turns coming into the Glenwood, Minnesota, office over the course of a week to pack 575 meals.
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In April, distributor Triple Stitch Sportswear donated 200 yard signs to its hometown of Prospect, Connecticut, and neighboring Wethersfield, to show its support for workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. The signs, which carried grateful messages of “Thank You to Our Heroes” and “Keep America Safe and Strong” were available free to residents to post on their lawns.
The company worked with the mayors’ offices in both cities to distribute the signs, which were available one per family on a first-come, first-served basis on the town greens in each community. TripleStitch Sportswear co-owner Nick D’Eramo, pictured, says, “Our medical professionals are fighting a war out there. They are working long hours, in harrowing conditions and putting their own lives on the line. We want to show them how much we appreciate them.”
The company worked with the mayors’ offices in both cities to distribute the signs, which were available one per family on a first-come, first-served basis on the town greens in each community. Triple Stitch Sportswear co-owner Nick D’Eramo, pictured, says, “Our medical professionals are fighting a war out there. They are working long hours in harrowing conditions and putting their lives on the line. We want to show them how much we appreciate them.”
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Supplier Baden Sports in Renton, Washington, donated 15,000 protective face masks to help combat the spread of the coronavirus in Washington State. The face masks were given to local health-care workers serving on the frontlines of the pandemic at hospitals and long-term care facilities in King County, where the outbreak has been particularly severe. Family-owned Baden Sports has operated in South King County for more than 40 years.
Baden leveraged its global supply chain to procure the face masks, which were delivered to Highline Medical Center in Burien and Valley Medical Center in Renton, among other facilities nominated by its employees.
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James Khattak is news editor of PPB.
