In late March Dr. Jenny Zhang, one of our third-year medical residents, heard the call for donations to support the clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. She reached out to her dad, to see if he could encourage his friends to donate funds and desperately needed PPE. “Growing up, my parents were always generous in giving back to their community.”
Dr. Zhang’s dad, Dr. John Zhang, took the issue to heart saying, “Medical staff are the people protecting us, we should do whatever we can to protect them. If they get into trouble, then we’ll all be in trouble.”
The pair went to work, reaching out to many friends and contacts within the Chinese community. They got a swift and generous response including one from Dr. Benjamin Y.H. Liu. Dr. Liu is a retired Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota and the retired President and CEO of MSP Corporation. He and his granddaughter, Amanda Liu Olson donated $100,000 to the effort.
Ben Yan, President of the Alliance for Minnesota Chinese Organizations (AMCO), also teamed up with the Zhangs right away. AMCO was not new to the COVID-19 relief effort, their members raised over $50,000 in January to purchase masks and ventilators to send to Chinese hospitals.
At a ceremony on May 10th, AMCO generously donated 6,400 surgical masks and $6,655 that they had raised from their members. One restaurant member even donated Chinese food dinner boxes to United Family Medicine staff. In his remarks, Mr. Yan said that each of the boxes of masks was “filled with love.”
Altogether this enormous group effort raised over $110,000 and over 8,300 pieces of personal protective equipment. United Family Medicine is enormously grateful for the support and love from the Chinese community in Minnesota. Donations like these mean we can continue to provide excellent healthcare to underserved and vulnerable populations during the pandemic.
Mr. Zhang summed up this spirit of generosity perfectly, “If one person shows a small love to another person, and another person gives it back, then we’ll all feel better. It’s a much better way to live.” Dr. Zhang added, “We’re finding that love is more contagious than coronavirus.”
For press inquiries, contact:
Riley Karbon, Director of Advancement
rkarbon@unitedfamilymedicine.org
651-241-1103
