Hamilton youth sports club raise funds to supply PPE to local hospitals
Published April 13, 2020 at 1:38 pm
A Hamilton youth basketball organization sidelined due to COVID-19 is looking to support our local health-care workers by raising money for personal protective equipment (PPE).
A Hamilton youth basketball organization sidelined due to COVID-19 is looking to support our local health-care workers by raising money for personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Blitz Basketball Club, a local rep league for boys and girls, has launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $10,000 to purchase medical masks to be donated to the PPE Donations Hamilton Health Sciences Centre.
The club made their first delivery of 2,000 surgical masks late last week to McMaster, Blitz co-founder Stefano Giovannangeli told InTheHammer.
Giovannangeli made the delivery himself on Thursday (April 9), while practising physical distancing.
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“Although not the coveted N-95 masks,” the GoFundMe page says, “After speaking to several medical professionals in Hamilton, these medical masks will not only be of great use for care of non-Covid-19 patients but they may also be used to help preserve the N-95 masks that doctors and nurses are now being told they must re-use and conserve.”
It costs approximately $2,500 to secure the purchase of 2000 masks and they will be delivered within 10 to 15 days of the order being placed, the GoFundMe campaign says.
Any additional funds raised by Blitz will go towards assisting local food banks.
“With food bank donations we would try to utilize donations that will be matched by private grocery chains to further enhance our donation,” they said.
So far, the campaign has raised more than $5,000 and the club wants to keep it up as long as there is a need for supplies on the front lines.
“Our hope, however, is to surpass the funds needed for this initial order and to make additional orders in the near future,” the campaign says.
“We will also keep exploring all and any options presented to us in bringing in any PPE materials to help our front line health providers in Hamilton.”
Blitz asks anyone who might have a lead on possible PPE suppliers to reach out to them so they can explore a variety of options.
The club can be reached via email at [email protected] and donations can be made through the club’s GoFundMe campaign.
Photo courtesy Stefano Giovannangeli
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