Hear the voices from the frontlines. (Hover or tap the box for the testimonies.)
..Hear directly from a student studying in Kyiv..
"Ismail Adedolapo, a 23-year-old Nigerian studying in Kyiv, Ukraine, heard explosions starting around 5 a.m. Thursday morning as Russia began its invasion. “I was up all night literally watching it unfold around us."
Nurse from La Mesa, CA...our frontliners won't have enough PPEs to protect themselves...
"With the increased number of cases we are seeing everyday, and the shortage of PPEs nationwide, I’m afraid our front liners won’t have enough PPEs to protect themselves."
Nurse from La Mesa, CA“Some 80,000 international students study in Ukraine, according to data from Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science.!”
...About 80,000 students needs your help...
“Thank you for the masks! I’m physically crying happy tears. I’ve been crying every day for the past couple weeks but today has been the first that they're actually happy tears!”
Pediatric nurse from Michigan...I've been crying everyday for the past couple weeks...
Helping villagers of Donskoy...
"villagers of Donskoy need help and we are doing all we can to help you can be a part of it."
We feel very vulnerable on a daily basis...
"They are talking about reusing plastic gowns and hanging them on a hook, or wearing a poncho and wiping them down with bleach wipes after use. We feel very vulnerable on a daily basis being on the front line."
RN from North Port, FLIt is like a war zone here. They're rationing one surgical mask per employee per day and we don't have access to N95s or face shields, yet we're expected to take care of COVID-19 positive patients…
Doctor from New YorkIt is like a war zone here.
..hospital personnel are getting sick...
“My hospital is a COVID-19 only hospital. We have a lot of infected patients and hospital personnel are getting sick, which prevents us from doing our job. Thank you greatly in advance for your donated masks.”
Resident doctor in New York"We are extremely short of PPE supplies, particularly masks...and made to re-use them, or forced to see patients with regular masks."
Nurse Manager, Miami, FL..we are made to re-use masks...
..Right now we are using homemade face masks...
"We are taking care of the most vulnerable residents and are very short on PPE...Right now we are using homemade face masks. We do not have N95 masks, just a short supply of surgical masks."
Resident from Mt. Pleasant, MI"PPE is being locked in our manager's cabinet and being dispersed minimally because of the shortage."
Nurse from San Diego, CAPPE is dispersed minimally because of shortage...
...one surgical masks for the foreseeable future...
"My organization has given me one surgical mask for the foreseeable future."
Nurse from Philadelphia, PAOur Healthcare Industry
Response of many health care organizations to the reduction in primary and elective care has been to reduce staff providing those services. Emplyment in health care declined by an estimated 43,000 people from mid-February through mid-March and has undoubtedly declined further since then. Approximately half the cost of primary care practices is attributable to salaries, so furloughs help ensure solvency. But bills will have to be paid and remaining costs cannot be reduced as much. Tha bank accounts of many practices are not large enough to absorb long-term shutdown.
43,000 furloughed
16,000 infected
Our innovative design FDA/CDC compliant masks
On 2/26 we finished prototyping and testing an anti-tamper, latex-free flat fold medical face mask design that could exceed BFE (99.1% vs 3M™ Standard Procedure Mask's > 95%)/PFE (95.6% vs. 3M™ Standard Procedure Mask's n/a) standards while eliminating the need for dwindling supply of knit elastic.
On 3/27 we filed a provisional patent application with the USPTO: 29729526. Currently, we're producing these as "last resort" medical face masks at a Chinese factory that produces FDA-certified PPE and are working with US factories to replicate the process.
You can keep track of our FDA device listing assignment details here. The process is currently being executed under the advisement of an FDA officer and adhering to FDA guidelines set forth during the pandemic.
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Medical Face Masks Already Delivered to HCPs Across the Country
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+Medical Face Masks are on the Way to the Front Lines
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+Medical Face Masks can be Sent if We Reach Our Fundraising Goal
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Isolation Suits Acquired for Donation
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Nitrile Gloves Purchased for Donation
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+Bottles of Hand Sanitizers were Acquired for Donation
But that's far from enough.
Our goal is to buy and send an additional FREE 100,000 masks to the frontline by May 15.
Can you help?
How are we Different?
Secure supply chain
Having anticipated a critical shortage for surgical masks back in December, we proactively retooled a factory in China to make masks. With control over every aspect of the supply chain, all we need is your donation so that we can get 100,000 masks from the factory floor to the faces of our heroes.
Improved, FDA-compliant design
Our improved masks can block more germs and are a lot more comfortable to wear for long hours. They are FDA / EUA approved and CDC recommended. You can learn more here.
Serving the most under-resourced communities
We send masks directly to healthcare providers in the under-resourced communities, which are often areas hardest hit by COVID-19. We have sent thousands of masks so far, and we intend to send 100,000 more. See our delivery updates here.
100% donation-based, volunteers-driven
We are a group of good samaritans (with backgrounds in medicine, advocacy, data science, and technology) working around the clock to get face maasks to the frontline. We have self-funded this entire effort so far, and now we are ready to scale up our effort with donations from you. Check out our founding story here.
Delivery & Fundraising Updates
25 August 2020
Please Watch Mayo Clinic on Netflix
In light of COVID, BLM, and the looming economic crisis, etc.--I urge you to watch the Mayo Clinic documentary on Netflix. My friend Charlene Kelly is one of the featured patients. Intersectionality and falling through gaps have never been more important topics. Our non-profit organized a hospital bed in the past and food for her; she is a patient with autoimmune myositis, leukemia and now late stage breast cancer. COVID has made it incredibly difficult to get access to care for rare disease patients (I know because I am one of those patients and am also facing a brutal time sourcing medicine for fellow patients), but also other-cause mortality is down/screening is down. Food security is down/families are being broken and instability is rising fastest among Black communities/POC/people who are poor. When all of these identities collide we face really intractable problems. An organization or nation is only as great as it regards its most vulnerable people, and Charlene’s life is worth protecting--her life is a testament of God’s strength and grace but also a testament to what we must do to achieve collective humility and awareness to uplift us all for the betterment of each other, not just ourselves individually.
25 August 2020
17 July 2020
501K Clearance
Another round of shipments. The Christian sisters in Hong Kong outpost (see some of their prayers in the layout pic) have donated FDA registered isolation suits to us (working toward 501K clearance with the US government). 12 medium sized (most right now in the hospitals available are L...their hope is for them to go to the female nurses and doctors...) are on the way to Rio Grande Valley. Meanwhile, our leasing office is “holding” onto 2 cartons of masks. (2400!). Please help us pray for their release so we can donate these medical masks ASAP (FDA registration listing also attached). Stay strong/positive and please stay in touch with your loved ones. Our time is precious here and family/friends are the greatest gifts. Thank you to everyone who is bringing light and love to our community. ❤️
6 July 2020
Disaster Relief Worker Volunteer
During this trying time, I’m thankful to be able to give back to veterans like my dad by giving what support I can to the United States Veterans Affairs. Thank you for this opportunity. ❤️ Thank you Santa Clara County for calling on me as a Disaster Relief Worker volunteer. I’m humbled to be able to do my part, in whatever small way I can serve to defeat this virus.
6 July 2020
6 July 2020
Peace be with Queen Quet
Protecting our elders and vulnerable communities during this pandemic is of utmost importance! CDC COCA Call reports concern for small, stand-alone critical care centers, which often are the backbone to communities like the Gullah Geechee Nation, one of America’s treasures and gatekeepers to our past. We are honored to be able to send 1,000 medical masks to help safeguard our greater community. Prayers of safety, health, love, and unity. Peace be with Queen Quet.
3 July 2020
Many prayers of unity, strength, love, and health
Haven't updated in a while. We've been busy sending masks all over the country and surpassed the 50K mark (and yes, we are still in the first wave). Bay Area and Southern California are picking up speed, with case fatality rates approaching 7% in the north and surpassing 10% in the south. Stay safe, wear masks, stay inside as much as possible--it makes the jobs of volunteer testers (me) and frontline nurses, doctors, and healthcare workers just a bit more manageable. -- Sophia ❤️ Also! We got a shipment of isolation suits in and will be sending out free isolation suits as requested. Many prayers of unity, strength, love, and health.
3 July 2020
9 June 2020
We continue to welcome donation requests
Weekend in review! Since March, PPEforHCP has officially donated 56,200 masks to nurses and doctors across the country (in the past 72 hours: 1 community clean-up event, 1 peace rally, 1 voter registration/peace protest, 3 hospitals). As many parts of the country begin to open and protests for black lives matter/police reform continue ❤️, we offer support and continue to support positive community health outcomes by donating masks to peace marches/rallies/protests, community town hall meetings, and vigils.
4 June 2020
Wishing peace, solidarity, safety, unity
4400 masks and 40 face shields on the way to peaceful protesters in Springfield, OH — led by my black scleroderma sister 2200 to BUFU in NYC
4 June 2020
14 May 2020
Meeting with Partners & Prepared 2000 Masks to Navajo Nation
Met with Malambo Grassroots, Herbalists without Borders, and Stop the Bug today. 2,000 masks on the way to the Navajo Nation. Now we gotta put our heads together to solve the hand sanitation crisis in many places from Bangladesh to Pakistan, to Uganda to Ethiopia. Limited access to clean water, soap, and alcohol means hand washing is a luxury. It shouldn’t be! Handwashing can help against not just coronavirus but also norovirus and other enterobacteria access should be a basic human right. More problem solving to come. We are going to tap into our engineering capacity to improve hand sanitation stations and analyze low-/no-water use methods of cleaning. And start reaching out to get soap to those in need.
09 May 2020
Critical care clinics are at the highest risk of insolvency
Small critical care clinics are at the highest risk of insolvency during this trying time in America’s history. As we collectively fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, please remember the clinicians fighting on the frontline in the most needy areas who were fighting health disparities/accessibilty BEFORE all this started. Right now, our friends in Singapore are facing surges in cases among migrant workers, groups with poor access to health system...we must take action now. Very grateful our carton of 1200 99.1% BFE medical masks made it safelyto the health clinic in Tenderloin, SF. Thank you for helping with the small wins! They mean everything.
09 May 2020
07 May 2020
Peace, happiness, and health for all
Over the past couple months, my supplier (two English-speaking Christian sisters living in Guangdong) (vetted from over 500 potential suppliers) has become a dear penpal. She and her sister champion peace and friendship between our countries, often sending free PPE as they face the threat of bankruptcy to their own small family factory. While many US companies are charging $5+ per piece of KN95/N95–sisters G and R sent as many packages as possible for free to my friends on the frontline. They share the same hope as me: peace, happiness, and health for all. They share the same worries: the health and safety of nurses, doctors, and those who cannot stand on their own. Like me, sisters G and R have arrived at the same conclusion: we ordinary people must stand together and support one another, for while we don’t make history/our story will go untold throughout the echoes of time — we suffer and triumph together. The cooperation/caring we empower/inspire us to share means everything in our small lives. In spite of the countless struggles in this project, I feel blessed to experience patience and kindness that knows no borders, that is non-partisan and non-national.
07 May 2020
Kid- and elderly-friendly cloth masks from Whitney Crowder
As Nebraska faces an onslaught of new cases of COVID and furloughing—one tireless mom (Whitney Crowder) of kiddos with cystic fibrosis is gathering the community of seamstresses to make beautiful, kid- and elderly-friendly cloth masks with us. These are being given out for free to patients in need. Multi-ply cotton (200+ thread count) and elastic knit ear loops for a good fit that is easy on little hands/arthritic hands/tender heads. Thank you!!!
07 May 2020
06 May 2020
Civilian masks prototypes
Updates! Civilian mask prototypes are starting to come in! Our studies of areas that have flattened the curve effectively indicate that universal “daily civilian” face mask wearing is a key indicator of flattening.
These will be going out to doctor’s offices so patients who are in the first rounds coming back/cannot afford their own mask/have access can get a free washable mask. Made with 200 thread count 3 ply cotton, they give the wearer 20-30% protection but also do the important job of protecting others.
And a shipment went out to our HCP friends on the frontlines of COVID at Lifecare Centers, MA, CA, and UCSF. Thank you for all your support to protect the community!
These will be going out to doctor’s offices so patients who are in the first rounds coming back/cannot afford their own mask/have access can get a free washable mask. Made with 200 thread count 3 ply cotton, they give the wearer 20-30% protection but also do the important job of protecting others.
And a shipment went out to our HCP friends on the frontlines of COVID at Lifecare Centers, MA, CA, and UCSF. Thank you for all your support to protect the community!
29 April 2020
Thank you GoFundMe!
Thank you to the GoFundMe Team for helping sponsor 500 masks with their generous donation of $500. On Friday and Monday, PPEforHCP was honored to be able step up to serve the County of Santa Clara—which has only filled 30% of PPE need (official statement from VMC Foundation/SCC EOC). We are happy to support the U.S. Veterans Association of Santa Clara County and also the City of Santa Clara-VMC Foundation. Much love and stay safe, healthy, and happy!!!
29 April 2020
27 April 2020
Custom donation from Santa Clara County SCC EOC Logistics
This morning I got a call on my cell phone directly from Santa Clara County SCC EOC Logistics – Medical Supply Unit. A custom donation of 2 gallons of hand sanitizer, 1200 masks, 600 nitrile non-sterile gloves, and 10 face shields is going out tomorrow, the first of many this summer and into winter. Very honored to be doing our part as the “little women” of our neighborhood to make a little, but positive impact in the ongoing battle against COVID-19.
19 April 2020
1200 masks to Brookwood Community
1200 masks made it to Brookwood Community in Texas!
19 April 2020
23 April 2020
HSS hospital in NY, here we come!
IMAN Hospital in Chicago, HSS Hospital in New York here we come!
Thanks to Momentus Space for the swanky face shields. Rocket scientists rule. The rest will be on the way to VA and UCSF this week. :)
Only 6,000 masks left. Need a restock soon.
Thanks to Momentus Space for the swanky face shields. Rocket scientists rule. The rest will be on the way to VA and UCSF this week. :)
Only 6,000 masks left. Need a restock soon.
17 April 2020
Production starts for next round
Our factory is already starting production for the next round of face masks!!! Thank you for all who donated yesterday to help sponsor our order of 4400 masks (yes, we are steamrolling this project forward to keep providing life-protecting immediate aid!!!) Thanks to all the volunteers! And donors! You guys are helping us flatten the curve and reduce hospital impacting.
17 April 2020
03 April 2020
Nurses at Kaiser band together and practice self-care
I was overwhelmed with gratitude when a nurse sent a picture of the safe arrival of the face masks. They've been great self-advocates, referring each other to the website and supporting one another during the PPE shortage and COVID-19 crisis. I'm astounded by their wonderful spirits and wish them safety and health.
30 March 2020
Longest receipt I've ever seen
Today I sent out 2,550 masks to 45 HCPs across the country. Dr. Jim Goodrich passed away in NY, so I made sure to send a pack of precious 3M N95s to his friend (also a surgeon). I'm hoping Lashify supports me soon, because paying $1,200 on shipping every time I leave the apartment is a bit discouraging.
30 March 2020
Help Us Reach Our
Fundraising Goal
Together We Can Help and Support Our Front Liners
PPEforHCP Limited is a pending California non-profit corporation.
We are a proud member of California Association of Nonprofits.
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For a direct line of access to us, please text or WhatsApp Sophia at: +1.425.961.3003. You can email admin@ppeforhcp.com and we'll make sure to return your message within 4 hours.