Sometimes an office decommission can uncover something amazing, which is exactly what happened when we cleared out the offices of a global financial services company and discovered that, among other things, we had to find a new home for 63 boxes of surgical masks.
Not only were the surgical masks a surprise, but so too was the new home we found for the masks. Thanks to travelers Marie-Hélène Villeneuve and Harold Garth Griffiths, we were able to connect with the Hospital Integral de Isla Mujeres, a recently built hospital located on the Isla Mujeres in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico.
Marie-Hélène and Harold knew about the hospital because they began volunteering with the hospital three years ago.
“We had originally gone to Mexico as tourists,” Marie-Hélène explained. “During our visit, we witnessed the poor state the hospital was in. We couldn’t just walk away from the hospital and not help because they were having difficulty properly serving the people in their community.”
As Marie-Hélène and Harold explained to us, the situation in Quintana Roo was not ideal when the new hospital was built.
“A few years back, the federal government paid for five hospitals to be built,” said Harold. “But, the government left it up to the state [Quintana Roo] to furnish those hospitals with equipment, which was something the state simply could not afford at the time.”
In order to help the hospital, Marie-Hélène and Harold sought out organizations that could donate essential hospital supplies. In what some might consider an unexpected turn of events, Marie-Hélène found Green Standards through her job at the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). Lucky for her, this transpired at a time when Green Standards completed an office decommission that uncovered an abundance of surgical masks.
“I was so happy when I found you guys,” said Marie-Hélène. “And thank you so much to the donors of the masks. It’s always nice to work with a group of people to help others.”
Once we coordinated the delivery of the surgical masks to the Mexican island, the masks were put to immediate use in the hospital, much to the delight of the doctors, the community, and the mayor.
It means a great deal to the people of Isla Mujeres.
“Even the mayor acknowledged this wonderful donation,” Marie-Hélène said. “And the doctors from the emergency department were thrilled to get it. These supplies allow for basic daily operations, which we take for granted here, but is a serious concern to those doctors.”
Marie-Hélène and Harold stressed that a donation like this goes a long way towards helping the doctors at Hospital Integral de Isla Mujeres care for the people in their community.
“A donation like this may seem little to some, but it means a great deal to people of Isla Mujeres,” said Marie Hélène.
