Drew Wilson
AT&T’s charitable arm sent $25,000 to Lakeland Regional Health on Tuesday to help it secure personal protective equipment for frontline workers.
“We have been committed to Florida for 140 years, and when the communities we live and work in need us most, we are honored to give back and support Florida’s families and small businesses as they work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Matt Mucci, AT&T Florida’s regional director for external and legislative affairs.
Lakeland Regional Health VP of development Timothy J. Boynton added, “The AT&T Foundation recognizes through this thoughtful grant the exceptional work we provide at Lakeland Regional Health, particularly during this COVID-19 pandemic.
“These much-needed funds will be directly applied to our ongoing COVID-19 efforts. As a not-for-profit organization, we are grateful to be part of a community of such giving and supportive individuals and businesses.”
Those looking to follow AT&T’s lead and lend a hand to Lakeland Regional Health can do so online.
The donation is part of a comprehensive effort undertaken by the communications giant to support healthcare workers. This month, it has announced grants for the Orlando Health Team Member Relief Fund, Baptist Health in Jacksonville and Jackson Health in South Florida. Further, AT&T has hooked up physicians and nurses across the country with three months of free wireless service through on the FirstNet network, which prioritizes call and data use for first responders.
Also on Tuesday, the AT&T Foundation announced it would provide 1,000 meals to healthcare workers in Hillsborough and Polk counties through a $10,000 contribution to Project FRONTLINE.
So far, 800 meals have been delivered to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, AdventHealth in Carrollwood and AdventHealth Heart of Florida in Davenport.
The balance will be sent to St. Joseph’s tomorrow on Wednesday. The meals were prepared by Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in Tampa and Nineteen61 in Lakeland, allowing the donation to double as a boost to struggling local businesses.
