The NYC Hardware Community has helped manufacture and deliver over 1,000,000+ face masks and shields to over 100 healthcare facilities around the city.
PROGRAM
M-CORPS, FUTUREWORKS
LOCATION
NEW YORK
After a half decade of significant investment in the NYC hardware and manufacturing community through programs like M-Corps and Futureworks, both run by SecondMuse, the hardware ecosystem was forced to pivot when supply chains broke down and the world as we knew it shifted. M-Corps specifically focuses on helping New York climate tech startups manufacture and get to market, and their base city and audience was impacted especially hard at the outset of the pandemic.
When NYC became the global epicenter of COVID-19, many hospitals experienced a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); face masks, shields, and gowns that were typically available were suddenly in short supply throughout all aspects of their supply chains. Seeing an opportunity to leverage their expertise for the greater good, the NYC Hardware Community took action. Since then, over 20 partners have joined SecondMuse to respond to the current health crisis by tapping into global supply, pivoting domestic and local supply, sourcing solutions to financial and capital gaps, and serving as a bridge between procurement offices and a rapidly fluctuating market.
One such partner that jumped in to help was PPEnow.org, founded by Futureworks alumna, Kim Nguyen. A key component of the initiative’s work was opening up new supply options via their global supply chain. The new supply was tested and distributed upon quality approvals, and to date, PPEnow has donated 500,000 surgical masks, thousands of KN95 masks, and 45,000 face shields to 80+ healthcare facilities and 25+ home healthcare groups. This is just one example of the ways our partners leveraged their expertise to create lasting impacts during a truly terrifying moment in NYC’s history.
Altogether with their partners, the NYC Hardware Community has helped manufacture and deliver over 1,000,000+ face masks and shields to over 100 healthcare facilities around the city, helping those working on the front lines continue to do their jobs safely and effectively.
Click HERE to learn even more about the amazing feats of the NYC Hardware Community in the face of COVID-19.
