It's a new week of #BandofHeroes, where we love to celebrate positive news from our partners in response to the on-going Coronavirus Pandemic. Up next, a brand that has been a staple in our wardrobes for decades: Gap. Read on to learn more about how the company is stepping up to respond to the needs of hospital networks and local communities like yours.
Providing Millions of Medical Supplies to Hospital Networks
Gap Inc has announced a series of initiatives to support the healthcare system. Firstly, the retailer has been relying on its supply chain and vendor relationships to respond immediately to COVID-19 by shipping personal protective equipment to hospitals in need. Gap has an entire team cross-functional brand dedicated to connect hospitals and vendors across their global supply chain to urgently respond to the greatest needs in the Bay Area and California hospitals. Additionally, the brand announced that it has started prototyping and planning to produce personal protective equipment with their own resources. The retailer is planning to pivot production and use their excess garment capacity to start making millions of masks and protective scrubs for front-line healthcare workers.
Gap's distribution centers has also been reaching out to local emergency responders to offer free storage space for emergency supplies in their warehouses.
Read more here.
Donating over $1 million to Support Communities
The Gap Foundation will also be donating over $1 million to non-profit organizations to support in the relief and recovery from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. These donations include:
- The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund created by the UN Foundation to aid the World Health Organization’s global efforts,
- Local COVID-19 response funds in the Bay Area and New York City where the retailer is headquartered.
- Unrestricted grants to several longtime nonprofit partners that are directly supporting families and communities in need.
Read more here.
These are only a few new initiatives that Gap is doing to respond to communities they serve during this time. To date, Gap has also given over $286,041.20 to local youth sports teams in North America through FlipGive.