Coronavirus: Food For The Poor Donates Protective Suits to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 1, 2020) Today, Food For The Poor donated 350 protective suits through Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue to help their workers prevent transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The protective suits were donated to Food For The Poor by Gleaning For The World, one of the charity’s partners.

Around the United States, first responders are struggling with too few supplies and working to find ways to protect themselves during the coronavirus crisis.

Broward County has reported 1,219 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Department of Health.

“The donation of these protective suits will help first responders by providing a barrier whenever we’re treating patients with a possible COVID-19 infection,” said Capt. Steve Hudson, of Pompano Beach Fire Rescue, at Food For The Poor’s Coconut Creek warehouse. “The stock of these suits has run thin, so this donation is greatly appreciated.”

Paul Walker, Executive Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, said he was in the middle of a teaching series about miracles when he heard another pastor say, ‘How big is your problem? That’s how big your miracle can be.'”

Walker said he spoke to his friend, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue Chief John Jurgle, and asked him what he needed and how he could help.

“John said, ‘It’s the suits to protect my men and women as they go out on these calls. If you find these things, it’s going to be a miracle,'” Walker said. “Thank you, Food For The Poor, for responding to that call and being part of this miracle. The donation of these suits is going to get them through the next two weeks until their critical order from the state can arrive.”

Food For The Poor’s Gifts In Kind Director Javier Ramirez thanked Gleaning For The World for its generosity and for being part of the “miracle.”

“With these protective suits, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue workers will be able to protect themselves as they are out treating patients in the community and protecting us,” Ramirez said.

Although the need is great in the countries served by Food For The Poor, the charity wants to help where it can locally.

For more than 38 years, Food For The Poor’s mission primarily has been to serve internationally. But the charity has responded in the past to catastrophic disasters in the United States, including Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 in New York, and to meet basic needs for local relief agencies.

“We’re grateful to our donors and partners for their help in protecting the most vulnerable we serve while also allowing us to assist the first responders on the front lines locally,” Food For The Poor President/CEO Ed Raine said.

The donation from Gleaning For The World enabled Food For The Poor to position supplies for quick deployment in the Caribbean and Latin America.

In March, the charity sent 26 shipments of medical supplies and other critically needed items to seven countries where the number of COVID-19 cases is rising daily. In addition, 20 pallets of supplies were airfreighted to Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica. Other countries helped so far include the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and St. Lucia.

Items sent include protective suits, antimicrobial wipes, gloves, masks, bars of soap, facial tissues, and medical waste bags.

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Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned and abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Michael Turnbell

Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
michaelt@foodforthepoor.com