CR Cares – Covid-19 community support
Date : 19 Apr 2020
Chinmaya Ramdoot Cares-COVID-19 community support
CRCares-COVID-19 Support began with 3 initiatives in order to help out the front line workers – mask making, food delivery and gathering hospital supplies.
Chinmaya sevaks who knew how to sew, offered to make masks. They gathered new and used cotton fabric and started producing masks. Soon, others got inspired and formed many mask making teams They churned out masks like robots, producing hundreds of them in a small period of time. The masks were delivered to hospitals, doctors, senior centers, and anyone else who were in need of them. One team decided to use 3D printing and delivered face shields to Morristown Memorial Hospital in NJ. Another team, Chinmaya Ramdoot – DRIVE TO CARE was formed to help out in delivering the materials to the mask making groups. The enthusiastic mask making team has made and delivered a whopping 1550 masks, 39 caps and 13 bands with buttons in a matter of few weeks!!
As Coronavirus crept into NJ, the hospital staff were overworked. Chinmaya Ramdoot CARES Sevaks approached the hospitals and volunteered to sponsor food for the front line hospital staff. They informed us that the hospital staff can not share food for health and safety reasons. A local pizzeria was identified, which can provide personal pan pizzas to the hospital staff. A total of 53 individual pizzas were delivered to 2 COVID units at Robertwood Johnson Hospital.
Chinmaya Ramdoot Cares-COVID-19 Support team also sent snack baskets to the local police, fire fighters and other front line workers at Overlook hospital, RWJ Hospital, Bridgewater Police dept, Bradley Gardens Rescue squad, Newark Beth Israel medical center, and Legacy Treatment Services.
We heard that due to the lockdown, many people lost jobs and were reliant on food banks. One of the local community organization, IAM International Inc., had heard about the CRCARES-COVID efforts and offered to donate. They donated 240 jars of tomato sauce through CRCARES to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County.
PPE items such as masks, gowns, gloves, soap, and more were on the top of the donation list. It was a huge drive where a total of 24 soaps, 133 goggles, 60 isolation gowns, 36 patient gowns, 2300 disposable gloves, 121 adult diapers, 12 disposable sheets, 100 cloth masks from various mask making teams and skin care products like ointments, lotions, etc. We donated the supplies to two of the major hospitals nearby as per their needs : Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and Hunterdon Medical Center.
It’s really heartwarming to see how people come together in times of crisis. One thing that this pandemic has taught us is that there’s a lot of good in this world. In times like these, humanity prevails over anything else. People start thinking beyond themselves, families come together to help. We are thankful and truly grateful to be part of this great community.
Check the below pdf file for detailed CR Cares report on Covid-19 Community support