- Facebook announced it has made plans to donate 720,000 masks (a combination of N95 masks and basic surgical masks) along with 1.5 million pairs of gloves to healthcare workers around the world
Facebook announced it has made plans to donate 720,000 masks (a combination of N95 masks and basic surgical masks) along with 1.5 million pairs of gloves to healthcare workers around the world, according to SF Chronicle. The social media company had purchased the masks for their offices’ emergency disaster kits due to wildfires in California.
So far, Facebook already donated 375,000 masks and 867,000 pairs of gloves to county officials in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. These officials are expected to distribute them to hospitals.
“As the situation continues to change, our commitment to our community will only get stronger,” explained Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg in an internal memo to employees over the weekend.
Plus Facebook has donated $650,000 worth of food to over a dozen Bay Area senior centers, schools, and organizations like Food Runners SF, Peninsula Volunteers Meals on Wheels, and the East Palo Alto Senior Center. And the company also sent $250,000 to the Sequoia Union High School District in San Mateo County for paying for 2,000 Wi-Fi hotspots and a year of Wi-Fi for low-income students who have to complete their work online during shelter-in-place but cannot access a reliable connection.
Facebook also announced it is pledging $500,000 to a number of homelessness-prevention organizations in the Bay Area. And the company is going to provide more local support as well.
To combat the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook announced a few days ago that it would be donating $20 million. Facebook worked with the United Nations Foundation and the World Health Organization for starting a COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
“Facebook is matching up to $10 million in donations, and 100% of funds will directly support the work to prevent, detect and respond to the outbreak around the world,” explained Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the donation. “We’ll also match $10 million for the CDC Foundation, which will launch a fundraiser in the next few weeks focused on combating the outbreak here in the US.”
Of the $20 million, Facebook is committing $10 million for the United Nations Foundation (UNF) and the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. And $10 million will be provided to the CDC Foundation.
