Bank Of America Provides PPE To Underserved Houston Communities

Press release from Bank of America:

March 5, 2021

Bank of America has worked with local partners in cities across the country to provide resources—namely, personal protective equipment (PPE) in the form of face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer—to vulnerable and underserved communities hardest hit by the coronavirus. In the first few weeks of 2021, Bank of America donated 72,000 masks, 76,000 gloves, and more than 960 bottles of eight-ounce hand sanitizer to local community clinics and nonprofits in Houston.

Clinics receiving the latest donations of PPE include Healthcare for the Homeless, San Jose Clinic, El Centro del Corazón, Legacy Community Health Centers, Spring Branch Community Health Center and the Houston Community ToolBank, which supplies tools to local non-profits. These donations follow 100,000 masks and 400 bottles of hand sanitizer given to Houston Community ToolBank in December 2020.

In the summer of 2020, Bank of America partnered with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Health Equity Response (H.E.R.) Task Force and Houston Food Bank to provide 600,000 face masks to Houstonians living in the neighborhoods most at-risk and vulnerable to COVID-19 community spread. In total, Bank of America has donated more than 848,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) to Houston non-profits, health centers, and government entities since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and we must work together to protect the health and safety of families in our community,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “I thank Bank of America for its partnership during a challenging time. As a result of the donation and support, the City of Houston distributed masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to critical areas around the city, addressing disparities the pandemic has exposed and assisting to slow the spread of the virus.”

These donations build upon Bank of America’s $100 million global effort to address coronavirus related challenges in local communities and is connected to its nationwide $1 billion, four-year commitment to address economic and racial inequality accelerated by a global pandemic. As of February 4, 2021, Bank of America has donated 21 million masks, more than 125,000 eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer and 2.2 million gloves to underserved communities, including communities of color, across the country.

“Community partners like Bank of America are so important to Houston Food Bank at any time, but most especially now as we continue to face one of the most critical times of need ever encountered,” says Brian Greene, president/CEO of Houston Food Bank. “As we work to help those in need of assistance, having the support of amazing partners makes the task more manageable. Being able to provide masks and PPE alongside food to those in need as well as people assisting in food distributions is providing more comprehensive assistance and care.”

“The health and safety of our employees, clients and our community remain our top priorities during this health and humanitarian crisis,” said Hong Ogle, Bank of America market president, Houston. “One demonstration of this commitment is our collaboration with local partners to identify and distribute face masks, gloves, and other materials to areas that are at higher risk from the virus, such as to neighborhoods with poor air quality, low-to-moderate income families unable to acquire proper masks, and communities of color, in addition to frontline workers, schools and health centers serving these populations.”

For more information on how the bank is supporting employees, clients and communities during this time, see latest updates here.

This press release was produced by Bank of America. The views expressed here are the author's own.