Local companies continue to step up in terms of donating products and services to help out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the latest donations, the Rochester Red Wings are donating 300,000 medical grade gloves.
Employees from the Wings’ Food and Beverage Department loaded up a county truck on Monday. Team President Naomi Silver says they are proud to contribute to the selfless efforts of area medical personnel and first responders.
"This community means everything to us, and you know, we can't be there in front of them on April 9 as we had hoped,but anything we can do, and I think most people feel that way; any way that you can pitch in to help in some small way, we're just glad to be able to do it,” Silver says.
Silver says the team recently purchased a lot of gloves thinking they would use them over the next few years, but with the baseball season being delayed, they saw a way to help the community.
In Fairport, at Iron Smoke Distillery, the CEO and co-founder, Tommy Brunett, says his company has temporarily turned their production efforts from whisky to hand sanitizer. He says more than 9,000 gallons of the sanitizer has already been produced, and they expect to eventually produce about 15,000 gallons per week. He’s working with Rochester Midland Corporation to distribute it.
“We’re distributing it through our partners, but we’re also giving away 2,000 bottles to first responders; they’ve requested it and they really need it, and we’re also obviously taking care of hospitals and front line workers that are at risk,” Brunett says.
Brunett says at first, they are focusing on the needs of local hospitals and health care workers, and then they expect to distribute some of the sanitizer to other hospitals that need it.
