Reported by Samuel Li
Since the AYFLUS launched the “Help Fight the Coronavirus” fundraising event on January 28, AYLUS has collected over $10,000 donations within just three days! The next step is to efficiently turn the donations into medical equipments that would best help hospitals in Wuhan.
The San Diego Branch recommended direct purchase of medical supplies in China, instead of importing supplies from overseas for two reasons. First, customs clearance would inevitably postpone the delivery time to the hospital in Wuhan. Second, given the current flu season as well as confirmed Coronavirus cases in the United States, retaining medical supplies within the States would be prudent in the worst case scenario.
After some research, the San Diego branch learned of San Diego’s local ACCEF’s (American Chinese Culture and Education Foundation) made medical supply donations to Wuhan Hospital through “Wuxi Aifu Charity Organization”. The San Diego Branch then verified the backgrounds and validity of the two organizations, as well as assessing the current situation in Wuhan. It was concluded that the aforementioned donation channel would be the fastest and most secure choice: ACCEF has a proven record of secure oversea transfers, while the founders of Wuxi Aifu Charity were themselves medical professionals.This not only ensured the quality of the equipments being purchased, but also specified the purchases to be the ones most urgently needed on a local basis.
The San Diego Branch proceeded to recommend this donation channel to AYFLUS, and was immediately approved and made responsible for contacting ACCEF for preliminary communication.
The San Diego Branch then reached out to ACCEF as soon as possible. The local reputation established by the San Diego Branch over the past years facilitated a mutual trust, and the two parties soon established a cooperative relationship. After diligent communication in logistics, AYLUS donated $10,000 through ACCEF to purchase 5 Philip WeiKang ST30 non-invasive ventilators under AYLUS’ name. The much-needed ventilators reached the Hubei Suizhou Central Hospital on February 8, 2020, and were used to help patients in critical conditions during late stages of their battle against coronavirus.
The San Diego Branch completed the inaugural round of donation on behalf of AYLUS. The success paved ways for subsequent donation activities, not only in terms of donation channels directly to Wuhan Hospitals, but also as an assurance for any concerns on the donation transparency for all potential donors. This helps the community of donors to entrust AYLUS in passing on their donation and kindness to compatriots in Wuhan.
