When you are a business that manages parking lots and garages and then suddenly out of the blue the entire country stops leaving the house, well, you’d be excused for some despair.
But that’s not what Penn Parking, Inc., did. Instead, it decided to help. It is making face shields for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals on the front lines in Maryland, where Penn Parking is located.
Penn Parking, who has been a Koprince Law client since 2015, has made and distributed hundreds of shields already, has a goal of making 1,000, and is challenging other businesses to join the fight.
Lisa Renshaw, president of Penn Parking, said that one of Penn Parking’s account managers was scrolling through Facebook one day when she came across a post from a nurse friend giving instructions on how to make a homemade face shield. The account manager shared the instructions with coworkers on a Penn Parking feed and within minutes the workers had fanned out to hobby shops, Walmarts, and hardware stores to pick up supplies.
“I mean literally minutes,” Renshaw said, “drop the fork mid bite.”
The shields are being donated to hospitals, nursing homes, and medical offices in Maryland, where as of March 31st there were over 1,600 documented cases of COVID-19 and 18 reported deaths. Renshaw said that they will donate shields wherever they are needed. In fact, Penn Parking is pressing to keep up with the demand.
“I decided instantly to do the shields because it was a very real need that Penn Parking could fill,” she said. “The circumstances are dire and we could make a real difference. Penn Parking could help stop the spread.”
Penn Parking workers recruited their friends and family, but didn’t stop there. Renshaw posted what Penn Parking was doing on LinkedIn and challenged other businesses to do the same. Penn Parking doesn’t usually publicize its charitable efforts, Renshaw said, but felt it was important to do so this time.
“The shields are different and we needed to get the word out because this is something anyone can do,” she said. “The more people who participate the better.”
The instructions for creating these homemade face shields can be found here.
If you’re a loyal SmallGovCon reader, you know this space is usually devoted to topics like GAO decisions and proposed regulations. We also refrain from identifying clients by name and are only doing so with Penn Parking’s permission. We’ve devoted this space almost entirely to COVID-19 related posts in the past two weeks and, frankly, were eager to share some good news.
Bravo, to all the employees of Penn Parking and their friends and family. We’re proud to work with you.
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