Working together to provide PPE to healthcare workers in Toronto

This past week we donated 399 face shields to the ER department at Scarborough General Hospital. These PPE will be distributed among three hospitals in the Scarborough Health Network . The quantity will probably last them for about 2 weeks. It is a small donation, but we are happy that we could contribute in a meaningful and direct way.

Hospitals have seen an amazing response from everyone: small businesses that can donate their own supplies to people donating and the Canadian government stepping in to help. However, we recognize that there are gaps in supply, maybe because logistically it takes longer to procure, warehouse and distribute large amounts of PPE or maybe it’s the focus mostly on gloves and masks.  We want to help with face shields because we have the right connections to make it happen, and because these supplies are limited.

After we made our donation, we thought about how else we can help. We no longer have the funds to procure these on our own, so we need your help.

We decided to donate 20% from our online sales to the procurement of face shields. We will manage the entire process, and 100% of these funds will go towards the purchasing and shipping of these face shields. We will also hand deliver them to hospitals in the Toronto (or beyond) region.

So how can you help? Check out our shop. Is there something you like? Grab a pair or two, for 20% off, and 20% of our revenue this month will go towards our PPE donation.

How much does 20% actually help? For each pair that we sell we can purchase on average 4-5 face shields to be later donated. At the same time, we are still committing to donate to our charity partner Seva.

We need to raise enough money to purchase and ship at a minimum of 200 face shields. If we don’t accomplish this by the end of April, all of the funds committed will be directly donated to one of the hospitals in the Toronto area.

And finally, we understand that maybe some don’t need another pair of sunglasses right now. We are looking into launching a separate fundraiser where you can donate whatever you can for this cause. Keep a close eye on our Instagram and Facebook  as we will make an announcement shortly.