At the beginning of March, the COVID-19 coronavirus had begun to escalate towards a global pandemic. People around the world were dealing with unprecedented numbers of infections and tragic deaths, and personal protective equipment (PPE) began to run out in the United States. Face masks disappeared from shelves and online stores, leaving people vulnerable and unprotected in a critical time of need.
FlexiSpot’s focus has always been centered on finding ways to help people, not only in the products that we offer, but in our caring commitment to the communities we serve. We immediately began thinking about what we could do to help.
By March 10th, we had formulated a plan and reached out to PPE manufacturers and suppliers throughout China. Our goal was to obtain as many disposable face masks as we could for the people who so desperately needed them in the U.S. In just a week, we had secured a Chinese manufacturer and purchased an initial batch of 20,000 civil face masks. By March 24th, those masks were in our warehouse and ready to ship.
By March 25th we began giving those masks out (for free) on our website to anyone who applied. The first requests were filled and shipped out the very next day using two-day shipping. People got them quickly, and the response was immediate and overwhelming. Many words of relief and gratitude poured in. To many, these masks were a matter of life and death. We were very happy to know that our efforts were making a difference.
By the end of March, requests for masks continued to flood in, and as our own supply dwindled, we knew we had to do more. We ordered a second batch from our manufacturer on March 28th, this time for 30,000 masks. Our manufacturer supported us with a very fast turnaround as they shipped the new batch to us just three days later.
At the beginning of April, FlexiSpot donated 200 masks to Anderson Community School Corporation, and we gave away both face masks and protective coveralls to Kaiser Alameda Hospital. We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to be of assistance and we will continue to offer face masks for free from our website as long as we can, and to do everything we can to help.
As the pandemic touches all our lives, it is heartwarming to see that kindness, generosity, and the desire to help others is still alive and stronger than ever around the world. We appreciate the brave people who perform essential services at this time of crisis and we are grateful to everyone who steps up to do their part. Our sincere condolences go out to everyone that has suffered a loss.
