Gates to Donate More Than $535,000 to COVID-19 Response
05 Aug 2020
In May, 2020 — BFPA member Gates announced charitable donations of more than $535,000 in support of not for profit organisations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Directed by the company’s global headquarters in Denver, the Gates Industrial Corporation Foundation (Foundation) is working with nearly 100 Gates facilities around the world to identify and help fund local non for profits that are making a difference. 19 charities across the EMEA region will receive a total of $78,500 (£63,400).
“Gates’ global charitable initiative is intended to empower local organizations. We’re tapping into local knowledge to address area-specific needs,” said Josef Parzhuber, President EMEA. “Here in EMEA, we’ve been able to direct our support to 19 charities making an impact in all of the communities we call home.”
Recipients of the Foundation donations in the UK include:
• Dumfries and Galloway Health Board Endowment Fund
• Cramlington hospital
• St Johns Ambulance
Responding quickly to the global outbreak, Gates initiated the charitable initiative with a substantial donation to the Hubei Charity Federation to support the medical needs in the area where the virus is believed to have originated. The aid campaign now spans other parts of South and North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa; Greater China; and East Asia and India, including 17 locations across the United States. Among the recipient organizations are chapters of large NGOs, such as the United Way and the American Red Cross, as well as local hospitals, food banks and other humanitarian organizations.
Donations, totalling more than $535,000, are being provided on an unrestricted basis to allow recipient charities maximum flexibility to address the most urgent needs in their area. Among those are Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline medical professionals and health care services and food and housing for the most vulnerable populations impacted by the pandemic.
In addition to its worldwide charitable donation initiative, Gates continues to actively monitor, manage and adapt to the evolving pandemic. Thanks to prompt implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols at all of its approximately 100 plants, offices, labs and distribution centres around the world, Gates has been able to continue serving its customers and maintain employment levels while protecting the health and safety team members, their families and communities.