Entrepreneur Freddie Figgers, founder of the Figgers Foundation, has partnered with Faithful Central Bible Church to donate 750,000 masks and 250,000 PPE to Martin Luther King Jr. and Centinela Hospitals, as well as Inglewood City Hall.
“The essence of this donation is an example of partnerships and relationships. Our communities are so knit together—the government, the faith community, the public, and the medical community,” said Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, senior pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church.
“Martin Luther King Hospital is on the front lines fighting this pandemic, and Faithful Central Bible Church, as a part of this community, wanted to let them know we are supporting them and that we are with them. This donation is a result of the bigheartedness of Mr. Figgers, an African-American businessman and philanthropist based in Florida, who wanted to make sure his gifts would reach the inner cities of our country and reach people in Los Angeles. It is an example of the connection between our government officials and the grassroots part of our community, and we just wanted to be a part of it.”
With the inner cities being left behind amid this pandemic and because African Americans are suffering at higher rates due to the inequities in America’s healthcare system, Figgers wanted to deliver necessary equipment to the inner cities so that the medical staff at these hospitals could be safe. Also on hand for the delivery of the supplies to Martin Luther King Hospital was County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “In effect, what we have is a private-public partnership, a non-profit hospital that is essentially doing extraordinary work 24/7, 365 days a year,” Ridley-Thomas said.
“Frontline workers are doing what needs to be done at MLK Jr. Community Hospital, joined by a religious institution, Faithful Central Bible Church, giving first-rate quality care. This is a campus that is a premiere campus in the County of Los Angeles. The spirit of volunteerism, the spirit of community engagement, and the spirit of generosity are being displayed by philanthropy and the faith community; all of this means a lot. We cannot win unless we have this kind of partnership. We will not be defeated by COVID-19. We are very grateful today.” Martin Luther King Hospital CEO, Dr. Elaine Batchlor, was more than thankful.
“This donation means the world to us,” Batchelor said. “Our staff is on the front lines of this pandemic and is here for the community every day. They appreciate it and love the fact that the community is here for them. This is extremely important to all of us; we need to keep our healthcare workers safe. This is what keeps them safe.”