SSOE Gives Back to Community with PPE Donations and Other Financial Assistance during COVID-19
TOLEDO, Ohio, May 6, 2020 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management, is happy to announce they have been able to assist healthcare and other community organizations during the coronavirus pandemic with donations of personal protection equipment (PPE) and other financial assistance.
Through their international networks, SSOE purchased and shipped PPE back to the U.S. and donated and distributed them to local hospitals and first responders. To date, the firm has donated over 2,000 medical face masks and nearly 5,000 N95 respirator masks, along with numerous medical gloves, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and other personal hygiene supplies. Organizations benefiting from these donations include the City of Toledo, ProMedica, Mercy Health, Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital, and many others.
In addition to the PPE donations, SSOE’s Lima, Ohio office was able to loan St. Rita’s Medical Center five of their powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) with battery packs along with hooded face shields and breathing tubes—saving St. Rita’s nearly $5,000 in new equipment costs. That same equipment was recently transferred to a Bluffton, Ohio retirement community experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.
Financially, SSOE has made several donations to help combat the virus. SSOE’s President and CEO, Vince DiPofi, signed the Stop the Spread pledge in March, a promise to be a community advocate in response to COVID-19, followed by SSOE making a significant financial commitment to help the efforts of the nonprofit organization. Stop the Spread was founded in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak that, with the help of partner companies like SSOE, is working to address the critical needs of the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways. DiPofi commented on the pledge, “SSOE believes in supporting the communities in which we work through programs, volunteering, financial support, and donations. Our donation is being utilized to treat COVID-19 healthcare challenges, including the need for PPE, ventilators, testing, and more. Many of our clients and partners are doing their part, and we encourage fellow private-sector organizations to join us at stopthespread.org.”
Additional SSOE monetary contributions have been made to the United Way, Northwest Ohio Food Bank, and Connecting Kids to Meals’ Children First Relief Fund. SSOE’s local Employee Club funds are also being redirected to provide lunches for frontline healthcare workers and first responders. DiPofi further shared, “Our company vision is to Design and Build the Future for our Clients, Colleagues, and Communities. I’m grateful for the agility and dedication our employees have exhibited in making our vision a reality, especially as it relates to our communities. We’re able to come together as an organization to give what we can and strengthen those in need.”