Protect Local Heroes Through New Campaign
Three national organizations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), have launched a new fundraising initiative that lets the general public make direct contributions to help their local hospital or health system fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Protect the Heroes,” a campaign developed by the Creative Coalition, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and AHA, sends every dollar raised directly to the donor’s choice of hospital to purchase personal protective equipment or other supplies to support their healthcare workforce.
Individuals can visit www.ProtectTheHeroes.org and, with a single click, be connected to the website of a local hospital of their choosing and make a contribution. Hospitals are facing shortages of many critical supplies and have multiple resource needs related to COVID-19. Each hospital will determine where funds should be applied to have the greatest impact.
The project got an early boost when the Major League Baseball Players Trust announced it would donate $150,000 to the cause.
“In recent weeks we have seen an outpouring of support from Americans eager to help our nation’s healthcare heroes on the front lines of COVID-19,” said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “This initiative is about making a difference directly in communities and providing immediate support for our brave women and men on the front lines of this pandemic.”
“We created Protect the Heroes so that, if you just have $1 to spare, you can make a difference at this critical time for the hospital that serves you and your family. Donations are going directly to give the hospital workers in your community the support that they desperately need,” said The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk. Bronk also said the coalition would call on its substantial community of entertainers and artists to engage in the project.
“Our healthcare teams are at the center of the fight against coronavirus,” said Alice Ayres, President and CEO of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP). “In launching this campaign, we hope to mobilize all Americans to make sure hospitals, long-term care facilities and hospices and all the people providing care at them have the resources they need to win the fight and stay safe themselves.”
AHA is a not-for-profit association of healthcare provider organizations and individuals that advocates on behalf of nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other healthcare organizations, clinician partners and members of its professional membership groups. The Creative Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) is an international professional organization for development professionals in North America’s healthcare organizations.