By: RVBusiness|Published on: Apr 29, 2020|Categories: Today’s Industry News
Thor Industries Inc. donated 10,000 KN95 masks for use by front-line first responders and in long-term care facilities in Elkhart County, Ind., according to reporting today (April 29) by WSBT-TV, South Bend.
And South Bend’s ABC-57 is reporting other companies – including Forest River Inc., which provided a travel trailer – are helping Bashor Children’s Home serve at-risk kids throughout the region.
Jen Tobey, Elkhart County Emergency Management director, made the Thor announcement, saying, “That was phenomenal.” She added that while the donation will greatly help, more masks are needed as demand is on the rise. “I am pretty excited about that. We probably could use 20K, but we are gladly taking 10. It puts a very big dent in the (shortage of) supplies that we can offer to our front-line, first responders as well as our long term care facilities,” she said.
Elkhart, Ind.-based Thor Industries Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the world’s largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles.
Bashor Children’s Home in Elkhart County has been a residential, educational and preventative service provider for at-risk children for the past 97 years. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state tasked them with creating an isolation zone where kids could live if they or their families contracted the illness, without spreading the illness to others on campus. They say they were able to make the necessary changes within days all because the community immediately answered to help.
“We reached out to the community which has been so generous and gracious to us “said Director of Development, Steve Riikonen “People were making masks, donating face shields, making gowns for the staff to wear. We also reached out to Forrest River who loaned us a travel trailer because the one thing our campus didn’t have was a shower for the kids.”
Since Bashor is considered an essential business – with 70 kids already living on campus plus many staff members – a safe, clean quarantine space was an immediate need. The facility couldn’t just shut down due to the pandemic. “We have 70 kids to look after. We can’t just say everyone is going home and working from home” said Riikonen “We still have to show up everyday.” He said the generosity of Elkhart County businesses “stands the test of time. They respond to the need of the community. They are so very generous and so willing to help out where ever they can.”
Click here for the WSBT story.
Click here for the ABC-57 report.
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/thor-forest-river-stepping-up-in-covid-19-fight/
