Delivery for Scarborough General Hospital
To contribute, please visit the Working Together to Share donations page.
Concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Great Toronto Area, the Toronto Xiangqi Association (TXA) and the Markham Xiangqi Association (MXA) began a fundraising program called “Working Together to Share” on March 25.
The program quickly received support from Markham City Councillor, Alan Ho (Ward 2) and from Toronto City Councillor Cynthia Lai (Ward 23 Scarborough North).
Delivery for the Markham Stouffville Hospital
With generous support from members of the TXA and MXA, and from the Chinese community, the program was able to raise its first $30,000 in less than one week. The CEO of iTech Computer, Jade Law, is one of the top donors, having contributed more than 10% of all the medical supplies so far delivered.
TXA and MXA members made tremendous efforts in identifying suppliers, comparing costs, and procuring and packaging more than 12,000 masks. Elena Pacheco, the vice president of Planning and Transformation at Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH), collaborated with the TXA and MXA to verify the certifications of the medical supplies before procurement.
Working with Councillor Cynthia Lai to support her challenge, the program moved the Scarborough Health Network (SHN) onto its priority list. Coincidently, the TXA and MXA were contacted by Bailey Chen, a registered nurse in the hemodialysis unit at the SHN, with a request for support.
Representatives from the TXA, MXA, and Councillor Ho packed and delivered the first batch of 7,000 masks to MSH on March 31. These included 1,200 N95 masks, 2,800 level 2 Surgical Masks, and 3,000 level 3 surgical masks.
Another 5,000 masks were delivered to the Scarborough Health Network on April 2. These included 1,200 N95 masks, 2,050 level 2 surgical masks, and 1,950 level 3 surgical masks.
“We would like to thank all healthcare workers for the work they are doing every day. We recognize the crucial role they are playing and that they are often doing so at great personal sacrifice,” says Elton Yuen, the president of the TXA and MXA.
“We are very grateful for all the donations received from TXA and MXA. Chinese community has been very supportive during this challenging time,” says Mark Cobrad, the manager of materials at MSH, “we want to thank all people participated in this fundraising event.”
“On behalf of the frontline medical workers, I want to thank TXA and MXA for all medical supplies donated. Chinese community has been very supportive during this challenging time,” says Bailey Chen, “we want to thank all people participated in this fundraising event.”
“I am proud to announce TXA and MXA have stepped up to my challenge and donated 5,000 masks to Scarborough Health Network,” says Councillor Cynthia Lai. “Working together with local community leaders we have now donated almost 25,000 masks in just one week. These PPE donations are essential for our frontline workers. Having the protective equipment required to do their jobs in a safe manner is imperative. We are all so grateful for all that our frontline workers are doing during these difficult times. It’s still not enough. I challenge other business owners to help in any way they can. During these difficult times we must work together as a community to successfully combat the virus. I personally thank Toronto Xiangqi Association for your generous donation.”
The “Working Together to Share” fundraising program welcomes donations of any size. To make a donation, please visit the Working Together to Share donations page.
For more information, please contact the TXA/MXA, one of the councillors who are partnering with us, or go to the TXA Facebook page.
Photos by Shuxu Liu, Dorothy Yuan, Shiming Sun
