Thanks to the spread of COVID-19, the National Hockey League as well as several other leagues in North America and across the world have paused gameplay in an effort to flatten the curve of the illness.
And while sports fans everywhere may be feeling a sense of loss right now, some of the hardest hit people are healthcare workers who are on the front lines of battling the pandemic, with shortages of essential equipment like gloves everywhere.
That’s when Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin and his father stepped up with a major assist.
They donated 50,000 vinyl powder-free and nitrile gloves split up between two hospitals (Detroit Medical Center and St. Mary Mercy Livonia). Larkin’s father happens to work in the beauty industry and had a supplier for gloves that had some in his home.
“So my dad, being a part of the beauty industry, has a supplier for gloves that he goes through and he actually had some in his garage,” Larkin explained. “He was watching the news and I actually was, too. They made a mention that hospitals had a need for gloves and masks obviously so he felt he had a good chunk of them and I bought them off of him to donate to the hospitals. Kind of supporting him, and then we went through his distributor to get some more gloves to donate.”
“We are so thankful to Dylan for this much- appreciated gift of gloves for St. Mary Mercy Livonia,” said Rob Casalou, president and CEO, Trinity Health Michigan. “These gloves will be going straight to our clinicians in the emergency room where they will be put to immediate use as we continue to treat the large number of patients seeking care at our hospital.”
The 50,000 gloves were split – 25,000 went to the DMC and 25,000 to St. Mary Mercy Livonia.
– – Quotes via Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com Link – –