Tonsa Automotive, a family-owned New York Metro area auto parts distributor, is donating $30,000 to local hospitals to support the fight against coronavirus.
“Although like so many other small businesses we too are struggling, our hardships pale in comparison to those on the front lines of this pandemic, and we must take care of those who take care of us,” said Jerry Thomas, managing director of Tonsa Automotive. “In our own small way, we feel inspired to follow the example set by those in our industry, who decades ago played a transformational role in helping improve the health of millions.”
In 1945, General Motors executive Alfred P. Sloan and engineer Charles F. Kettering sought to apply lessons learned from the automobile industry to cancer research and announced the creation of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.
Years later, Memorial Hospital became Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Cente, bringing the research learned to battle cancer directly to the front line.
Today, MSKCC has been re-purposed as a COVID-19 facility to aid in the battle against this pandemic, but supply shortages, extended shifts, and a heavily burdened staff is leading to the physical and emotional collapse of front-line medical staff.
NYU Winthrop Hospital — the Long Island hub of NYU Langone Health — is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top-10 New York metro-area hospitals.
The hospital, founded in 1896, features more than 75 divisions of specialty care and an ACS Level 1 Trauma Center. The hospital has been at the forefront of battling COVID-19 on Long Island, including heeding New York State’s call to significantly increase capacity.
The hospital has converted conference space into an ICU, the library is now COVID-care support space for staff and the hospital erected a triage tent to help assess and manage those with respiratory symptoms; among other measures.
As a result, Tonsa Automotive is donating $20,000 to MSKCC in Manhattan and an additional $10,000 to NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola.
“We hope this will provide the nurses, technicians, doctors and other staff on the front lines with a little support because we know they never quit fighting for us,” added Thomas. “Most importantly, we extend an invitation to our fellow automotive parts distributors, vendors, and customers nationwide to pitch in by supporting your local hospital.”
Based in Port Washington, Tonsa Automotive is a family-owned New York Metro area parts distributor of General Motors Genuine GM/ACDelco Parts.
