10K Masks for NYC, Chicago, Detroit, NOLA, Boston

Personal Protective Equipment shortages are still a huge issue for our healthcare workers, with many doctors and nurses in need of your support. For that reason, we are expanding our project to four new cities that are facing significant outbreaks of COVID-19: Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans and Boston. The goal: 10,000 Masks to each of these cities. Please donate and spread the word.

You can check out our current progress,  the status of shipments, and see photos and videos of the campaign on our website 10kmasks.org.

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Our first shipment of N95 masks has arrived in New York City! Check out this video of a doctor at NYC's Bellevue Hospital opening up the first box of masks and thanking you for your support.   More Updates:

·         First 10,000 mask shipment: Now arriving in hospitals across NYC (April 16).  

·         Second shipment of 11,000 masks: Purchased and currently with Chinese customs (April 16).

·         We're upping  our goal to $150,000 with the hope of sending several additional shipments.   Third shipment of masks: that depends on you!  Share and donate today!!! 

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed so far.  You're making a real difference here: every dollar you contribute helps prevent frontline responders from getting sick with COVID-19.  Because many of you have asked, we wanted to share the medical professionals and hospitals that are receiving the first shipment:

·         Bellevue Hospital 
·         NYU-Langone Hospital
·         Westchester Medical Center
·         Mt. Sinai
·         Montefiore Hospital
·         Henry J. Carter Hospital LTACH

As Doctor Kaja Says, Your Contribution is Making a Difference!

So many more frontline workers are asking for our help.  Funding is our main constraint right now.  We cannot place another order for masks until we have enough money.  The more money we raise, the more we can ship.  We really want to help other parts of America that are being hit, or will be hit soon, outside of New York.   

With love,
Jack and Kevin

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About Us:

We are two American professionals with over a decade of experience living and working in China. As private citizens concerned about the mask shortage back home, we are sending help to our frontline doctors and nurses in NYC.  Our names are Kevin Miles and Jack Dart (ig: @the_clown_nerd and @jackdart ).   We are not medical professionals, but we have the relationships, networks, volunteer support, language ability, and understanding of the Chinese market to do something to help.

We are sourcing masks from reputable Chinese suppliers to send directly to health care providers, including doctors and nurses at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.   We have already sent hundreds of masks, but we need your help to do more.  

Why We Are Doing This:

While production of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is ramping up across America, there is a critical short-term need to deliver masks and other PPE.   Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers across New York are pleading for masks.  Their institutions have the money to purchase PPE, but they are unable to source the quantities they need quickly enough.   Everyone in the world is rushing to buying masks and PPE, and it's extremely hard to find.  We can't leave this up to hospitals and doctors to fend for themselves and hope they get what the need. 

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in New York and beyond, it’s essential to take advantage of already-in-place PPE production channels.  A whopping 85 percent (!) of global medical mask-production capacity has been in China since the COVID-19 outbreak — and that’s where we come in.  Working on the ground in China and using our combined experience, we have sought out relationship networks with suppliers and vendors, and have volunteers to support our vetting process.  But we need to act now to 1) obtain supply at a good price and 2) reserve the ever-shrinking cargo space to send masks.   That's why we set this up.

The Goal, and Our Plan (and Financial Stuff):

$150,000, our current goal, will allow us to ship over 30,000 FDA-approved Makrite 9500 respirator masks, as well as FDA-approved 3M KN95 masks.  We have located a reputable supplier in Shanghai and are spending around $4.00 mask (prices tend to fluctuate daily around this number.)  Shipping express with FedEx will cost about $1.00 per mask due to high demand.  The company we are dealing with will ship them directly to the United States via air freight.  One caveat: subsequent shipments may change in cost (resulting in less masks) due to continuing escalation of global demand, but 100 percent of your donation will go directly toward paying for and shipping N95 masks. 

**Legal note: this is a personal campaign and does not necessarily represent the views of our employers.**