Dr. Maria Ma (Right), President of OSU Chinese Faculty & Staff Association (CFSA) and Dr. Edward Fan (Left), Chair of the Stillwater Chinese Baptist Church Council (SCBC), on behalf of the Stillwater Chinese Community, delivers the donated medical masks to the Stillwater Medical Foundation on March 30.

Stillwater Chinese community and previous OSU Chinese scholars donate nearly 10,000 facemasks

Friday, April 3, 2020

With protective gear for medical and police personnel in short supply, the Stillwater Chinese community has rallied to meet the need.

Led by the OSU Chinese Faculty & Staff Association (CFSA) and the Stillwater Chinese Baptist Church (SCBC), community members donated 7,200 facemasks to Stillwater Medical Center and another 2,400 to the Stillwater Police Department on Monday, March 30.

Dr. Maria Ma, president of CFSA and Dr. Edward Fan, chair of the SCBC Church Council, made the donation on behalf of the Stillwater Chinese community to the two units on the frontline of protecting the health and safety of the community. The masks travelled from China and were purchased by more than 50 Chinese scholars who used to study at OSU as visiting scholars. Although most of them only spent one year or less in Stillwater, they all feel a strong bond with local friends and the city.

After learning of urgent needs for medical supplies at Stillwater medical facilities, these scholars quickly mobilized and kicked off a fundraising campaign in the City of Xi’an that grew rapidly to other cities in China. Within less a week, more than 50 scholars had donated more than $4,000 and nearly 10,000 facemasks were purchased and shipped to Stillwater. They also pledged two additional boxes of facemasks for their American friends and OSU professors in Stillwater that are currently on the way.

The latest batch of facemasks is the second-round of donations by the Stillwater Chinese community, which provided nearly 200 N95 facemasks to Stillwater Medical Center on March 26.

The community also launched a fundraising campaign on March 25 aimed at raising $25,000 to purchase supplies for Stillwater Medical Center and other local medical facilities. They have raised $3,390 to date and are encouraging Stillwater residents to unite in support of the frontline responders during the crisis.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyn Putnam | School of Global Studies and Partnerships | 405.744.5496 | lyn.putnam@okstate.edu