Today at a virtual Town Hall, Silicon Slopes announced the formation of the COVID19 Utah Community Response Fund to help respond to the urgent needs across the Beehive State. With $1.2M already committed by Utah companies, executives, and individuals to jumpstart these efforts, the community is encouraged to donate at SlopesServes.com to reach a $5M goal to help alleviate the distress already being experienced as a result of this pandemic.
This new fund will be used exclusively to accelerate the private sector’s impact of COVID19 in Utah with funds being used for things such as:
- FDA-approved COVID19 test kits to accelerate the diagnosis of fellow Utahns
- Medical supplies for those health professionals and nonprofit workers in contact with potentially infected individuals, and
- Public health and K-12 education efforts.
“We all play a role in how we address this issue and how we as a community recover as well,” said Mark Newman, CEO of Nomi Health, who is partnering with Silicon Slopes to coordinate the fund. “This is a time when the private sector and the Silicon Slopes community can show its strength to alleviate the strain placed on government and healthcare organizations to lessen the impact of COVID19 on our great state.”
In addition to the new fund, Silicon Slopes is asking its community members to help gather and donate medical and sanitary supplies such as masks, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, diapers, 800-level Tyvex Suits, goggles, and testing swabs.
There is a need for healthy volunteers to assist Silicon Slopes’ nonprofit partners in transporting supplies. The organization is working closely with the Utah Coronavirus Task Force to ensure that all of its efforts are complementary to state and local actions.
“The outpouring of support from Silicon Slopes’ CEOs has been immense,” said Clint Betts, executive director of Silicon Slopes. “Many of them are allowing employees to donate their time to volunteering in the efforts, but we need more help. Our community has always been known for its volunteerism and ability to step up in times of need. We hope this new fund and additional resources will provide opportunities and education on where members of our community can direct their efforts.”
For more information about donating money and supplies and volunteering, visit www.SlopesServes.com.
