Bush charity helps boost medical aid

Less than a month after its formation, the US-China Coronavirus Action Network (US-China CAN)－initiated by the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations (the Bush China Foundation)－is producing concrete results to help China combat the novel coronavirus.

Working with a private-sector partner, Asia and America Consultants, the US-China CAN facilitated the procurement and shipment of 550,000 US-produced medical-grade surgical masks to the Beijing and Chengdu governments for distribution within the first week.

Approached by the US-China Business Council, the network united different forces in securing 2 million masks to donate as an overt gesture of goodwill and support by the US business community to China last week.

"There is a Chinese saying: 'feng yu tong zhou'－'wind and rain, we all are in the same boat,'" said David Firestein, president and CEO of the Bush China Foundation. "This is exactly how we see the present crisis: We are all in this together. We at the Bush China Foundation will do everything we can to help our Chinese friends cope with the challenges posed by this virus."

"Working to help fight and defeat COVID-19 is going to be our foundation's top priority for as long as it's necessary and as long as we can add value in helping China cope with this public health crisis," Firestein said.

Robbin Goodman, director of business programs and corporate affairs at the Bush China Foundation, is the primary organizer of US-China CAN.

"It's difficult to pin down the exact number of people and organizations involved because the way we built the network as quickly and effectively as possible was by tapping into and linking a diverse group of previously isolated existing networks. Roughly within the first 24 hours, 48 hours, of the initiative, we reached over 1,000 contacts worldwide. Many responded and are actively working with us," Goodman said.

The network includes large corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and individual volunteers across the world, according to Goodman, and he said the list is growing daily.

"What we have seen very clearly over the last couple of weeks is that many Americans care about the situation in China and want to help in any way they can," said Firestein.

"The niche that we are filling with our US-China CAN effort is to connect questions with answers and needs with capacity while increasing overall coordination and efficiency and reducing redundancy of effort."

A number of American cities with sister city bonds to China have taken this proverb to heart when they mobilized local communities to help China battle the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Pittsburgh's sister city relationship with the Chinese city of Wuhan began nearly four decades ago and spanned six mayors. So when Wuhan was hit by novel coronavirus pneumonia, residents of the city raced to send aid to their friends across the globe.

"As the cities have had such a good and long relationship, it just seems like not only was it a global health emergency, but it was friends of our city who are hurting and who are most affected. The whole city has really come together to reach out and try to help," said Sarah Boal, assistant vice-president for Disaster Response& Strategic Initiatives at Brother's Brother Foundation, a Pittsburgh-based international charity that promotes health and education initiatives.

Officials in Dubuque, Iowa, are trying to find a way to help its sister city of Handan, a major transportation hub between Beijing and Wuhan. The city of Toledo in Ohio share sister cities ties with two Chinese cities: Qinhuangdao and Nanchong. It's doing its best to help bring medical face masks and disposable medical gloves to the two regions.

In a statement, Sister Cities International said it's closely monitoring the outbreak and encouraged its members to contact their local communities for relief efforts.