DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The City of Dallas and the non-profit, Dallas Foundation, are now raising money for masks and gloves to send to Jaipur, India. India has been dealing with a surge, setting records for new cases and deaths. India has become the second country, after the United States, with 20 million confirmed cases.
"This is a remarkable humanitarian crisis we are facing globally, and it calls on each one of us to act swiftly and generously," says Matthew Randazzo, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Foundation.
Jaipur is the tenth largest city in India; Dallas is the ninth biggest city in the United States. The 2010 Census showed Dallas/Fort Worth had about 100,000 Indian American residents.
"I was very adamant I wanted a city-to-city connection because I felt the help would get there most quickly, most efficiently and actually deepen our city's connection, really furthering international cooperation," says Mayor Eric Johnson. "We're sending the message to the rest of the world that we think that's important. We want to be considered a global player, and philanthropy is something we want to export from Dallas."
Randazzo says the Dallas Foundation has already raised $1 million from the local business community. He is urging individuals to donate here.
"We have a global health crisis that requires we meet this moment and we nimbly and flexibly get the resources we need to the community," he says.
"The generosity of Dallasites is well-known here. We know how generous our city is. We know what our philanthropic community is capable of and what it does every single time we have a need," Johnson says. "The world needs to know that."