Pablo Foundation Steps Up with $1M for COVID-19 Relief
Eau Claire-based charity’s gifts have gone to hospitals, community groups
V1 Staff |
One of the bright spots among all the alarming news over the past few weeks has been the generosity of community donors who have pitched in to help deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pablo Foundation – an Eau Claire-based charity focused on housing, health, education, and the arts – has been among the most generous donors in the Chippewa Valley. On Friday, we learned just HOW generous they’ve been: The foundation announced that, to date, it has donated a total of $1 million for everything from personal protective equipment to virus research to funding for suffering nonprofits.
“We are experiencing the worst pandemic in over 100 years. This is an opportunity to help some of the best people in the world do what they do and save lives,” said Zach Halmstad, one of the foundation’s founders (and co-founder of jamf software).
Over the past month, the foundation has donated funds to Mayo Clinic, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, and Marshfield Clinic for PPE, testing platforms, test kits, and drive-through testing sites; to Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 Research Fund, which is working on developing a vaccine; and to two major community-wide fundraising efforts, the Quick Response Community Found and Together Chippewa Valley.
Here are the full details on the Pablo Foundation’s gifts, via a press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pablo Foundation Donates $1 Million in Support of Covid-19 Relief
As Covid-19 continues to disrupt and take lives, Eau Claire’s local Pablo Foundation announces that it has donated $1 million in support of relief efforts.
In the past month, Pablo Foundation has donated $225,000 to Mayo Clinic, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, and Marshfield Clinic to procure additional PPE, testing platforms, test kits, and drive-through testing sites. An additional donation of $675,000 was made to Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 Research Fund to accelerate research to further understand the Covid-19 virus, immunity, antibody testing, and vaccine development.
Of the hospital and research donations, Zach Halmstad, one of Pablo Foundation’s founding members, states, “We are experiencing the worst pandemic in over 100 years. This is an opportunity to help some of the best people in the world do what they do and save lives.”
Pablo Foundation is also participating in matching gifts with the Eau Claire Community Foundation’s Quick Response Community Fund and Together Chippewa Valley’s community-wide fundraising initiative. Donations totaling $100,000 to these two organizations are then redistributed to nonprofits serving the Chippewa Valley based on each organization’s respective grant process. Over 40 local non-profits across a broad sector including health, food, shelter, social services, animal welfare, and arts and culture, will benefit through these matching grants and redistribution methods.
Pablo Foundation’s Executive Director MaiVue Xiong indicates, “So many people and business operations, both profit and non-profit, are hurting. The Board and I have attempted to move quickly and efficiently to help out as many people as possible. We thank the community for all the match gifts that have come in and are ever more grateful to be neighbors in the Chippewa Valley.”
The mission of the Pablo Foundation is to create a model for a healthy and sustainable community. They are focused on housing, health, education, and the arts.
