FALL RIVER, Mass. — July 29, 2020 — Bolger & O’Hearn has donated 22 quarts of hand sanitizer to Community Connections Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit that provides life-enriching services and training for developmentally disabled adults, ages 22 and above. The programs at Community Connections are designed to help their clients live as independently as possible.
The organization has been closed since March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the donation will help support its reopening later this summer.
Tanya Madeira, the Life Skills Program Manager at Community Connections, stated that the organization is currently planning the reopening of the Fall River locations in August with very strict restrictions and guidelines to ensure the safety of her clients and staff. Community Connections serves 58 developmentally disabled adults with a staff of 17, and donations of hand sanitizer and disinfectants are needed and greatly appreciated.
The gift to Community Connections, which has three locations in Fall River, is one of several hand sanitizer donations that Bolger & O’Hearn has made to front line workers, community groups and hospitals in Rhode island and Massachusetts since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. In March, B&O donated over 200 gallons of hand sanitizer to the city of Fall River for use by the fire department and front line workers to support city operations. Bolger & O’Hearn has been located in Fall River since 1969.
In April, Bolger & O’Hearn donated over 700 pounds of hand sanitizer to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. BWH is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. That donation of hand sanitizer was distributed in 4.6 ounce bottles to residents of underserved Boston communities, where hand sanitizer was either not available or affordable, to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in New England.
In May, Bolger & O’Hearn donated 400 pounds of hand sanitizer to Lifespan, a not-for-profit health care system based in Providence, R.I. Formed in 1994, Lifespan includes The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University: Rhode Island Hospital and its Hasbro Children’s Hospital; The Miriam Hospital; and Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital and Gateway Healthcare.
And in June, Bolger & O’Hearn donated several gallons of hand sanitizer to People Inc., of Fall River, which provides comprehensive family services, from adult foster care training to training for people with disabilities.
Bolger & O’Hearn is best known for making specialty chemicals for the textile industry, including fluorine-free, high-powered durable water repellents (DWRs) that are used in the manufacturing of PPE.
“This is a time for all of us to pull together and do what we can to help others, save lives and support those who are risking their lives to save ours,” said Kelly Murphy, co-president of Bolger & O’Hearn. “Donations, such as the one this month to Community Connections are the least we can do.”
Bolger & O’Hearn is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on other fronts, as well. This includes working closely with leaders of the US textile industry developing highly-powerful durable water, oil and soil repellents used in the manufacturing of Levels 1, 2 and 3 medical textiles and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including masks, gowns, bed coverings, hospital room drapes and more.
“In particular, we are seeing a high demand for the high-powered, durable water repellents (DWRs) we have developed for high-end performance apparel brands,” Murphy said. B&O’s DWR’s, which include fluorine-free Altopel F3 and Stormproof/Breathable OmniBloq®, provide resistance to fluid penetration, splatter and soils and offer a much higher level of barrier protection for both woven and nonwoven textiles than standard water repellents
Posted July 29, 2020
Source: Bolger and O’Hearn
