Ryan Ridgway, operations manager for 3twenty Modular, with the some of the hand sanitizer the business donated to community organizations on Friday in Saskatoon, SK. Provided: Bryan McCrea / Saskatoon

USask unites: Alumni-owned company donates hand sanitizer to community organizations

Since the first cases of COVID-19 were announced in the province, members of the USask community have come together to support one another in these uncertain times.

Extraordinary circumstances have brought out extraordinary responses from members of our USask community. From frontline health-care workers to researchers looking for a solution to this global health threat, there are so many stories about people are working to make our home communities safer and healthy. Here are a few of the inspiring stories of our students, staff, faculty and alumni.

While hand sanitizer is a hot commodity as people try to curb the spread of COVID-19, USask alumni Bryan McCrea (BComm'09) and Evan Willoughby (BE'10) were pretty sure they wouldn’t need $8,000 worth.

The pair, co-founders of Saskatoon-based modular structure manufacturer 3twenty Modular, were told by a supplier that they could only order hand sanitizer wholesale, as reported by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

On Friday, 3twenty donated most of their 720 litre order to organizations, long-term care homes and the city’s two community hubs, locations where a handful of non-profits are working together to deliver services.

“We only needed a little bit for our operations but that was the minimum order,” McCrea said. “I said, ‘Well there’s a bunch of people that need it, so let’s take a bit for ourselves and just donate the rest.'”

McCrea said he was happy to the community come together so quickly — a post on the company’s Facebook page asking where sanitizer was needed the most racked up comments and Custom Courier offered to deliver the donations for free.

“It certainly showed the need for support from businesses and everybody and that was the one thing,” he said. “I also thought it was really interesting how quickly people hopped on board and said here’s who might need it.”

3twenty isn’t the only local business stepping up to provide hand sanitizer as access to large quantities becomes increasingly challenging.

Last week, Lucky Bastard Distillers and Stumbletown Distilling joined alcohol manufacturers across Canada in turning their still into emergency hand sanitizer production facilties.

Article originally published on https://thestarphoenix.com/.


Share your stories with us: We are collecting the stories of resilience and good spirit from our USask community. Please send story ideas and photos to news@usask.ca.

As a community it is critical that we support each other and remain respectful during what is a difficult time for all of us. Please follow all guidelines and take all precautions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in our community.

How you can help our students during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://alumni.usask.ca/news/2020/covid-19-how-you-can-help-our-students.php.

For the latest developments and information about the University of Saskatchewan's response to COVID-19, please go to www.usask.ca/updates.

The University of Saskatchewan is undertaking critical research and contributing to global efforts to combat COVID-19. The University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO-InterVac) is a world leader in developing vaccines and technologies to combat infectious diseases. Your support of the COVID-19 Research Fund supports the increased efforts of researchers at the University of Saskatchewan to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. Donate now.

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