Motivated by the global calamity, Asian-American doctor Karen Tsai founded a non-profit organization which collects donations of personal protective equipment, such as PPE, and distributes it to her community in Los Angeles.
Conversations with her colleagues from her alma mater of Stony Brook revealed a dire need for a much needed solution in the city of New York, one of the most hard-hit cities in the country. After connecting with a colleague from the Bay Area they successfully set-up an online platform as a medium for requesting essential items needed by health workers such as PPEs, N95 masks and face shields. Her initial intention with the organization, Donate PPE, was to start off small by helping the local communities, however, she never expected for it to grow exponentially at a national level. It even managed to cross borders and reached the far off lands of Uganda.
Things took an unexpected turn when the organization began functioning nation-wide and large corporations were now extending their hands with extra equipment. This allowed Donate PPE to aid other venues beyond medical facilities such as schools and homeless shelters. In times of crisis where medical protective equipment was at all-time low, Donate PPE was ready to lend a hand.
Fake news, conspiracy theories and protests were staggeringly spread across the country. Whether powered by fear or genuine disbelief over the course of the pandemic we have seen a lot of misinformation being propagated. This has in turn made health workers jobs far more difficult. Seeing how effective prevention measures in her native place of Taiwan were achieved by educating its civilians, she hoped she could do the same in the US.
In the midst of all this madness she managed to find the time to sit down and write a book, Monster Dance, to educate young children about COVID-19. This book serves as a tool to educate future generations of the lessons learned from the pandemic. It offers a digestible introspection into the story behind the virus.
Karen’s work has not gone unnoticed, featured on several publications and even presenting an award at last year’s Primetime Emmy Awards. With the success of the vaccines and a hopeful tomorrow, Karen is already looking ahead at what her organization can do once the focus is no longer on COVID. This leaves many eager to see the good work she is yet to do.
