Masks 4 Masks
Doctors and nurses in New York are running out of masks (both surgical & N95), gowns, and other crucial supplies to keep them—and us—safe. Many nurses have been given 1 single-use N95 mask to reuse for the foreseeable future; others were not given a mask at all, and ER doctors don’t know if they’ll have a mask to protect them when they come in for work each day. In between shifts when they go home, doctors and nurses do not have a mask to wear, which puts them (and everyone else) at greater risk.
Our medical community is on the front lines of this crisis and should not be expected to compromise their health this way—this is not the “job they signed up for”, it’s a glaring example of bureaucratic failure and extreme under preparedness that is forcing our doctors and nurses to risk their health for others.
And here's the thing: There are thousands, if not millions, of masks out there, especially overseas (i.e. in China, where masks are no longer needed). Hospital systems and the government are currently ramping up production and placing massive orders, which will be helpful weeks from now—but it doesn’t help the current situation.
In the interim, we're gathering as many masks as we can to provide the healthcare professionals that we know personally (family members, close friends, etc.), and enable them to distribute to fellow medical professionals to use at their discretion. For example, to and from work on public transit—which is not presently being addressed and represents a major public health concern.
The purpose of this GoFundMe is to raise money to cover the cost of buying + shipping masks from overseas and locally—we plan to obtain as many masks as possible and ensure that we’re not exacerbating the present situation by working with manufacturers that are not filling bulk government orders, but rather those that have existing capacity or spare masks.
Anything helps--whether you can donate $1 or $5,000, and if you have masks to donate, please let us know. Please reach out with any questions or leads on manufacturers who might be able to help, too!
This GoFundMe has been produced in partnership with Soft (www.besoft.nyc), and to show our support we're donating 100% of profits generated by Soft for the foreseeable future to this cause directly, and are rolling out a series of events to further spread awareness.
Thank you!
Emily, Patrick, and James