** UPDATE: They are no longer taking donations on their GoFundMe page. Cui has asked for people to donate directly to the Edward Foundation.
Banding Together
Some are banding together during the coronavirus pandemic to support our healthcare workers – even from miles away.
Naperville resident Tina Cui was waiting a long time for the PPE shipment she ordered to arrive.
That’s when she turned to her high school alumni page to ask for help.
“I just went up there and said, ‘hey, who knows how to get PPE’s here quickly?’ And then somebody said, ‘I can help you, I have something’” said Cui.
One alumni from the group living in Seattle sent Cui 1,500 masks, four isolation gowns, and four goggles, which she then donated to Edward Hospital.
Help from Friends
But Cui’s need to help didn’t stop there. She reached out to her friend, Beth Riordan, who is a retired Edward Hospital nurse.
Since Riordan is high risk, she hasn’t been able to go back to nursing or work to help her colleagues.
“My heart just went out to them and I’ve been texting them and talking to them and they are all scared. It just ate me up that I can’t be there physically to help them, so what else can I do?” said Riordan.
Both Cui and Riordan purchased 1,000 KN95 masks for Edward, paying from their own pockets.
How You Can Help
They started a GoFundMe page for anyone who would like to help buy even more equipment.
“If you can, help our frontline medical workers because they are the first and last line of defense for us. If they are protected and if they are healthy, we all stand a better chance,” said Cui.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
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