On June 15th, Chief Financial Officer Anne Oliva received an email from Amazon PPE Hub inviting her to access a free selection of personal protective equipment (PPE) including sanitizers, masks, disposable gloves and safety goggles.
Embrace Living has had a relationship with Amazon since August 2014 through Amazon Smile, a program that allows Amazon shoppers to donate a portion of their eligible purchases to the charity of their choice at no extra cost. As a 501c3 organization with an Amazon Business account, Amazon selected Embrace Living as one of the first organizations to take advantage of this opportunity to supply their staff and residents with the supplies they need to stay safe. Oliva was able to procure a total of 7,325 items valued at over $120,000.
“Many of our staff and residents use hand sanitizer all year-round,” says Oliva. “We also have many residents that continue to wear disposable masks. This donation will help offset the cost of having to purchase PPE supplies for the housing communities.”
The bulk of the orders were delivered to Embrace Living’s Oak Brook, IL headquarters and have been distributed by the truckloads to Illinois-based communities. Embrace Living community locations in Florida and Missouri have placed their own orders with Amazon.
Embrace Living’ Director of Operations Ed Havlovic and Plant Operations Manager Kevin Hall, along with community maintenance staff leaders David McClenthen, Jay Baier, Ron Larsen and Scott Gipson, have played a key role in the effort’s logistics. They recently reported that there are enough supplies to give every resident several bottles of hand sanitizer and at least 100 face masks.
“These orders were placed with our residents’ health and wellness in the forefront of our minds,” says Oliva. “Resident health and wellness is a key initiative for our organization, and we are so grateful to Amazon for supporting us in making sure it comes to fruition, especially as residents seek safety and comfort in the final days of the pandemic.”
