South Triangle News

Triangle health care workers were short on masks, gloves and other personal protective materials, but when community members learned about the need, donations started piling up at the hospitals.  

Hospitals are receiving so many donations that special drop-off areas were created, The Charlotte Observer reported on April 14. Personal protective equipment (PPE) continues to be donated regularly, but the community has also started donating pizzas, doughnuts and other foods to the frontline hospital workers, The Charlotte Observer reported. 

“How powerful it is to say you’re supporting the well-being of some of our most critical resources right now through the simple kindness of a meal,” Dr. Jonathan Bae, who is helping coordinate the donations at Duke Health, told The Charlotte Observer. “There are some dark days thinking about what’s coming, and to feel that support from the community adds a little bit of light to that darkness.”

Several families, groups and restaurants have been donating food and meals to hospital employees, according to The Charlotte Observer. Many restaurants or organizations have also set up GoFundMe pages to raise money for the food. 

Others are offering special deals to support health care workers. 

At Makus Empanadas, if a customer purchases a dozen empanadas the restaurant will donate a dozen to someone in need or to "healthcare professionals on the frontlines battling every day," The Charlotte Observer reported. 

Other institutions such as the Wake Tech Community College donated 74,000 gloves, 3,000 masks and hundreds of hand sanitizer bottles, according to The Charlotte Observer. 

The Chinese-American Friendship Association of Cary, North Carolina, has also donated thousands of masks and face shields to local hospitals, government agencies, police departments and fire stations, according to The Charlotte Observer. 

Duke Health told the Charlotte Observer that its hospitals have been given around half a million PPE. Cree, a Durham-based LED lights and semiconductors company, donated 20,000 N95 masks to the hospital system, Cree CEO Gregg Lowe told The Charlotte Observer. 

“In these times that are kind of troubling for a lot of people, I find it inspiring to see everyone coming together for a common cause and really helping those who are really helping us,” Lowe said in a video call with Dr. Thomas Owens, Duke University Hospital president, the publication reported. “Your team at Duke is certainly at the front line of the epidemic and keeping your folks safe is going to help keep everybody else safe.”