Chinese American Group Donate for Frontline Heroes

In February 2020, a group of more than 200 people formed a COVID-19 response organization called The World Anti-epidemic Support Force - Los Angeles.

Consisting of mostly Chinese immigrants and organized by five Chinese American citizens residing in Palos Verdes and South Bay, the initial mission of the group was to support the front line health care professionals in China who needed help during the outbreak. When the COVID-19 became a global crisis in March, this group refocused themselves and started to fundraise for large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) for local communities, front line doctors, and first responders like police and firefighters.

In the past three weeks, the group has raised over $22,000 for purchasing PPE. To date, over 35,000 face masks and 4,000 pairs of medical grade gloves have been donated to the LAPD, LAFD, and other first responders with the assistance of LA Councilman, Joe Buscaino's office. Additional 20,000 PPEs has been donated by the thousands to a long list of local organizations that are currently serving the public, including:

• City of Rancho Palos Verdes
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office in Lomita
• Torrance Memorial Medical Center (Multiple Departments)
• Community Hospital Long Beach
• The Little Sisters of the Poor, a senior care center in San Pedro
• Keck Medicine of USC
• Manhattan Police & Fire Station
• Bristol Farms
• Ralph’s Supermarket
• Canterbury Nursing Home
• Trader Joe’s
• Torrance Adult School
• Care Mission LA
• Emergency Department at Providence LCM San Pedro
• Los Angeles US Post Office
• Pavilions
• Union Bank
• Smart and Final

The founders of the group have been left speechless by this heroic and heart-warming show of support from the local Chinese American community. Many donations of face masks came in DHL shipping bags, apparently just received from their family and loved ones overseas. In this perilous time when nobody knows for certain when the virus will be under control, they donated their own personal protective equipment for someone else’s safety. Many of the cleansing and disinfecting products that were donated are no longer readily available in stores, but still the community gave them freely to help others in greater need. As one Chinese American posted in a fundraising chat room for police officers’ face masks: “You protect us, we protect you”.

The World End-Epidemic Support Force – Los Angeles is led by a group of five Chinese Americans – Maggie Wang, Simone Mo, Daphne Dai, Jinghui Wang, and Mingli Wang. They have spent a tremendous amount of time communicating with suppliers, volunteers, and the receiving organizations to keep everything running efficiently. They often pick up and deliver large amounts of PPEs to the receiving organizations personally. They know they are racing against time and they take this responsibility seriously; sometimes, PPEs are delivered within just a few hours of a request for assistance. As noted in the chat room group note: “When the country is facing disaster, everyone has the responsibility to help”.

While we are all experiencing difficulties during this world changing event, this Chinese-American volunteer group has been a shining example of one the most endearing aspects of human kindness – the willingness of people to help and support each other even in times of great adversity. Through small, personal donations by a devoted group of caring people, they have collectively contributed to the well-being and safety of thousands of caregivers and essential workers in our community! To this group, and to everyone doing their part to make a difference in these trying times, we want to say “Thank you so much!”