COVID-19 Medical Workers Receive Protective Masks from Dogtown Media, Late Sunday Afternoon, and Schusterman Foundation

June 3, 2020 - 4 minutes read

It’s no secret that healthcare workers have a lot to contend with right now during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) shouldn’t be a problem. But across the US, many medical facilities have found themselves dealing with this exact scenario.

In order to address this issue, Dogtown Media teamed up with apparel company Late Sunday Afternoon and the Schusterman Family Foundation to donate reusable, washable protective masks to several US hospitals. We’re happy to report that these facilities have received our donation and are putting them to great use! Check out some of the pictures sprinkled throughout this article.

Finding the Good in the Bad

This endeavor began when Los Angeles was hit with its first cases of COVID-19. Matthew Schildkret, Late Sunday Afternoon’s Founder and CEO, immediately shuttered his clothing shop’s doors in an effort to mitigate health risks to his employees.

As the pandemic crisis unfolded and cases spiked, Matt realized he couldn’t just sit by and watch. It was clear that people, especially our healthcare workers on the frontline, were in need of help. Aware of his extensive experience in medical app development, Matt reached out to Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media’s Co-Founder and CEO.

Together, the two brainstormed a plan to help out: Start a 1-for-1 mask donation campaign. Within one hour of starting the initiative, Matt and Marc received hundreds of orders.

Scaling to Meet the Demand

The sudden surge in demand may have taken Marc and Matt by surprise, but it also confirmed they were on to something special. So the pair leaped into action to scale their operations. While Matt retooled his clothing manufacturing equipment and recruited some of his team members to ramp up production, Marc dealt with the logistics of getting these masks to medical workers.

After one week, the campaign was receiving thousands of orders per day. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation caught wind of this effort and joined in with a generous micro-grant of $2500!

These funds were used to send protective masks to Columbia University Medical Center in NYC, Columbus Colony Elderly Care in Ohio, Minneapolis-based nonprofit Allina Health, and many other US healthcare facilities.

We Will Beat COVID-19 By Working Together

COVID-19 has infected over 6 million people around the world. In the United States alone, over 100,000 people have lost their lives to this pandemic. As we mentioned before, a PPE shortage shouldn’t be something that medical workers have to deal with.

We hope that this effort helps protect them during this crisis. And we’ll certainly keep them in our thoughts and prayers as we continue Late Sunday Afternoon’s 1-for-1 campaign. Want to contribute? Click here!

Late Sunday Afternoon is an apparel company that hand-crafts functional, comfy clothing. It sources all of its materials locally and employs a zero-waste production process in an effort to promote sustainability.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is a worldwide organization that empowers communities and advances equity. It invests in initiatives that improve public education and aid marginalized individuals.