State Representatives Angelika Kausche (D-Johns Creek) and CaMia Hopson (D-Albany), in partnership with the SINO-USA Next Generation Foundation in Atlanta, recently donated 1,200 N95 masks to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Dougherty County.

“The outpouring of support our Albany community has received from all over the United States has been most appreciated,” said Rep. Hopson. “I am thankful to the SINO-USA Next Generation Foundation for stepping in and helping out by providing personal protective equipment for our hospital staff. ‘#AlbanyStrong’ is not just a trendy slogan, it is simply who we are and with the continued help of organizations such as this, we will continue to rise above this tragedy our community is experiencing.”   

Located in Rep. Hopson’s House District, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital has been reported as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in rural Georgia and is in need of personal protective equipment (PPE). When Rep. Hopson reached out to her fellow state legislators asking for donations to purchase supplies, she received a response from Rep. Kausche, who has been coordinating with the local Chinese-American community in metro Atlanta.  

“I was more than amazed that I received such a quick response from the Chinese community and am incredibly grateful for their commitment and dedication to fill the personal protective equipment gap,” said Rep. Kausche. “Within less than 24 hours, we were able to deliver 1,200 masks to Albany. The only thing they needed was someone to deliver the supplies, so I stepped up and delivered them to Albany myself.”  

Over the past few weeks, the SINO-USA Next Generation Foundation has purchased and received donations of over 40,000 masks, 150 goggles and 100 isolation gowns. The community has donated half of the supplies to nearly 20 hospitals and affiliated clinics, including Grady Hospital, Northside Hospital, Emory Healthcare, Piedmont Healthcare, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Georgia Regional Hospital and now, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. 

“We believed it was our responsibility to stand up and reach out to Chinese-American communities to help our country, the United States of America,” said Charlie Bao, director of SINO-USA Next Generation Foundation. “With the overwhelmingly strong support from the community, we have been working hard to source and purchase PPE from certified Chinese suppliers to donate to the hospitals in metro Atlanta, Athens and Albany. With the arrival of shipments, we will continue our donations to the most needed areas. We are in this together, and we will get through this together.”  

The SINO-USA Next Generation Foundation is a 501(c)(3) approved charitable organization established in 2009, providing scholarships to help needy students complete their basic education in mainland China.