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June 17, 2020

Students raise funds, deliver masks to front liners in six states

By Nick Wesman ’20G 

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant uncertainty in the lives of college students entering the job market or left them wondering how the next academic year will turn out. 

Rather than dwell and worry, one group of Providence College students and their faculty mentor are directing their thoughts to: “What can we do for others during this time?” 

About 20 business students, ranging from sophomores to recent graduates, have partnered with Frank D. Lin, visiting finance professor in the PC School of Business, in raising funds to purchase and distribute personal protective equipment for front-line workers in six states during the pandemic. 

Lin, through connections in China, established a supply route for surgical and N95 masks from companies like 3M and Honeywell. 

Upon hearing about those connections and excited to make an impact in their individual communities, students began to coalesce around an entirely unofficial effort to secure some of those supplies for local organizations and agencies as the spring semester was winding down.  

The effort, dubbed “Find Your Beach,” focused initially on collecting monetary donations. The slogan alludes to the idea of finding joy and satisfaction in the midst of trials, and team members reached out to friends, family members, instructors, and even alumni they knew personally to raise the funds. 

“It exemplifies that individuals need to find positivity, or their beach, no matter the scenario,” said Abigail Butkus ’21 (Washingtonville, N.Y.). “We’ve found our beach by giving back to the heroes on the front lines.” 

In the first phase of the project, the group raised about $44,000, which was used to purchase some 33,000 masks. To date, the team has distributed about 30,000 of those masks, while holding on to a miniscule portion as an emergency stockpile. 

“All of us share this common passion or drive to want to be go-getters and get things done,” said Kevin Lydon ’21 (Old Greenwich, Conn.). 

Once the masks were purchased and delivered to campus, several of the team members met to pick up batches and distribute them to their local hospitals, clinics, law enforcement personnel, and first responders. Several boxes were donated to the College. 

“We were very democratic in the way we distributed equipment. We went to smaller clinics that were as much in need as large hospitals,” said Lin. “It just shows how much you can do, even though you may not have much financial pull, with just the drive to do the right thing.” 

With team members hailing from around the Northeast, masks have been distributed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Maine. 

The first wave of PPE donations was a rousing success, according to the project’s participants. 

“We’re taking our time, using every resource we can, and reaching out to any connection we can,” said Scott Bilotta ’20, a recent graduate who donated masks to New Jersey State Police officers near his hometown of Atlantic Highlands. 

“You could really tell our donations meant a lot to people because they knew we were focusing all our energy and efforts on helping them,” he added. 

The project has taken on a personal note for Butkus, who heard first-hand details regarding the need for PPE from her father, the chief of her local volunteer fire department. 

“He expressed how not only the firefighters were suffering, but how various other first responders were affected,” she said. 

“If our first responders can put their lives on the line every day, there has to be something we as students can do to give back.” 

With health officials fearing there could be a second wave of the coronavirus in the United States, Lin and the students are redoubling their efforts for the next phase of the project. 

“Many people think this is a sprint; this is a marathon,” said Lin. “This virus is going to keep with us for quite a while, and whether it is going back to the first responders and hospitals in helping them get the equipment they need or to the College to help reopen, these are all critical issues that must be taken care of, so we have to continue to fundraise.” 

Hoping to expand the reach of the project, the team has set up a GoFundMe page centered around the additional theme of “1 Coffee. 1 Life.” Targeting college students particularly, that slogan urges potential donors to consider replacing a morning cup of coffee with a $5 donation, explained Brian Campbell ’22 (Westfield, Mass.). 

The team is working to increase the visibility of the fundraiser and hopes to establish connections with other colleges and universities around the country. 

Though the team members are testing the job market, starting new jobs, or preparing for next academic year, the plan is to contribute to the project in any way they can, at least for the foreseeable future. 

“We should be giving the credit to the people who are taking the time out of their day, people that need to get their careers and schooling started, and they’re the people who are contributing,” said Lin. 

As a recent graduate, Bilotta has felt an acute connection to the College through the project. 

“Throughout this entire experience, that Friar family feeling really came to the forefront. You could really tell that we were a family helping out other people,” he said of working with fellow students and instructors, as well as the response the team has received from alumni.  

Having personally reached out to an alumnus to request a donation, Bilotta said the donor needed no more information than the project’s cause. “He stopped me there and said ‘You don’t need to say anymore. I’m in,’” he said. 

Ultimately, Lin believes the effort team members are putting in is a direct reflection of the values the School of Business and the College are instilling in all students.  

“People have a tendency to go towards what’s right, and that exists at Providence College. I had great students, great men and women, with me that just want to do the right thing,” he said. 

“Look at the impact that has been created by students here. That should tell you everything you need to know about whether our students believe in their mantra.” 

Please consider a gift to The Fund for Providence College to make it possible for all students to continue to experience the value of a PC education.