DTE Energy Foundation bolsters historic COVID-19 relief campaign: 100,000 respirator masks delivered to area hospitals with t...
April 08 2020 - 3:31PM
The DTE Energy Foundation today delivered 100,000 KN95 respiratory
masks to hospitals in southeast Michigan, the latest donation in an
unprecedented campaign to protect Michiganders from the ravages of
COVID-19.
The DTE Foundation is fully activated during this crisis, having
already donated more than 50,000 respiratory masks to the Detroit
Police Department, the Highland Park Police Department and
hospitals across metropolitan Detroit and greater Michigan. As part
of its comprehensive COVID-19 relief campaign, the Foundation is
also supporting more than 1,000 non-profits across the state,
funding more than one million meals and helping 100,000 families
with basic needs. Last week, the Foundation announced that it will
match donations to the Michigan Association of United Ways and
Michigan Action through April 16.
“We’re just getting started. The DTE Foundation is pulling out
all the stops to help protect the heroes of our communities,” said
DTE President and CEO Jerry Norcia. “For weeks, the DTE Foundation
and its partners have been feeding Michiganders and equipping first
responders. Now, thanks to the tenacity of our remarkable supply
chain team, we can protect the Detroit-area health care workers who
are on the front lines of this pandemic.”
The KN95 masks, referred to as “filtering face piece
respirators” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
remove particles from the air that are breathed through it.
Hospitals in Detroit and throughout the state are running
critically short of these vital devices that can stem the spread of
the virus to doctors and nurses.“
The DTE Energy Foundation’s donation is just one example of how
Michiganders are rallying behind one another in this critical
time,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “I am so proud of
the people and the business leaders of this state who are stepping
up to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect Michigan families. We
will get through this together.”
DTE’s mask distribution has not been limited to hospitals. In
late March, Mayor Mike Duggan asked DTE to help equip Detroit
police officers with face masks. Within hours, the company
delivered more than 2,000 masks to the Detroit Police
Department.
“Keeping our first responders and medical professionals safe is
a key priority – and DTE has shown up to help in a big way,” Duggan
said. “When our police officers needed these masks, DTE responded
with a delivery in two hours. As our hospitals ran critically low
on masks, DTE worked around the clock to source KN95 masks to help.
DTE has been there for Detroit every step of the way during this
pandemic.”
Weeks ago, the DTE Foundation reached out to the Michigan
Emergency Response Team to learn how it might help secure
respiratory masks for health care heroes. Having already secured
these masks for its employees who are on the front lines restoring
power and repairing gas leaks, DTE’s procurement team activated its
suppliers to identify increasingly scarce resources for the masks.
A SWAT team of DTE supply chain experts worked around the clock to
buy masks from a variety of local and international sources.“
Our supply chain team was relentless,” Norcia said. “They worked
24/7 chasing every available mask across the globe.”
The bulk of DTE’s 2.3 million mask order was secured with the
help of DTE’s partner, Choctaw-Kaul, a minority-owned distribution
company in Detroit. In tandem and as part of its $16 million
commitment to help Michigan weather this crisis, DTE Foundation is
donating these masks and coordinating the distribution of the masks
with the State of Michigan’s Emergency Command Center and county
emergency managers who are determining the distribution priority
for KN95 Masks. Medical and first responder organizations
interested in being included in the donation of these masks are
encouraged to contact their county emergency manager.
The DTE Foundation is also supporting small businesses across
the state. The Foundation, in cooperation with Tech Town, is
funding support for 360 small businesses.The DTE Foundation has
also provided a grant to the Accounting Aid Society to guide small
businesses in accessing the Small Business Association’s Paycheck
Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to pay
employees during the COVID-19 crisis.
Meantime, DTE Executive Chairman and Chair of Business Leaders
for Michigan (BLM) Gerry Anderson is leading a special task force
gathering best practices from global companies and the most
up-to-date information from state and national government sources
to help employers, associations and our state respond quickly and
effectively to the COVID-19 global health emergency. The task force
is workingwith the Governor’s office to provide constructive
guidance for dealing with the crisis.
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy
company involved in the development and management of
energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating
units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in
Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million
customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses
focused on power and industrial projects; renewable natural gas;
natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage; and energy marketing
and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE utility operations
will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80
percent by 2040 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe,
reliable and affordable. DTE Electric aspires to achieve net zero
carbon emissions by 2050. DTE is committed to serving with its
energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives,
philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is
available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com,
twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.
ABOUT THE DTE ENERGY FOUNDATION
The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE
Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement
of its electric and natural gas utilities, which serve 2.2 million
electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.3 million natural
gas customers in Michigan. In 2019, the DTE Energy Foundation
provided grant support to hundreds of non-profits throughout the
company's service territories. As one of Michigan's leading
corporate citizens, DTE Energy is a force for growth and prosperity
in communities across Michigan in a variety of ways, including
philanthropy, volunteerism and economic progress. Visit
DTEFoundation.com to learn more.
Colleen Rosso
DTE Energy
313.235.5555
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