Carmel’s Chinese community wants to do its part to lend a hand in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We wanted to answer Mayor (Jim) Brainard’s call to help those people that are in need,” Carmel resident Ming Ye said.
Ye and Dr. Peiyi Hu headed a campaign to help collect donations of food and medical supplies for those who need them.
Ye is involved with the Carmel-Xiangyang Sister City Committee, which presents the annual Mooncake Festival.
The campaign team recently delivered a $500 check to the Carmel United Methodist Church food pantry and a $500 check to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s Merciful HELP Center.
The group also raises funds for medical supplies, including personal protection equipment for doctors, nurses and first responders, and donated 1,600 protective face masks that were delivered to IU Health North, which will distribute them to IU Health facilities.
Ye said there is a group of people from Carmel and Lafayette who are alumni of Tongji Medical University, which is in Wuhan, China, where the new coronavirus originated.
“We felt like we should do something to help those health care providers (in Wuhan),” Ye said. “Quickly, along with the broader Chinese American community, we launched a campaign to ask for donations. Those timely donations have saved lives.”
Now, their effort is concentrated on helping those in central Indiana.
“We feel like we should even do more for our hometown here,” Ye said. “We want to help our people that are working on the front lines. During this time, we do need to be connected.”
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