Responding to a call from the University System of Georgia (USG) to all its members, faculty and researchers across Georgia Tech’s campus spent a few days taking inventory of what kind of personal protective equipment (PPE) they had in their labs. On March 27, workers from Tech’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) shipped at least eight pallets of the much-needed materials.

“It was incredible how this came together so quickly. We managed to collect this all in just a couple of days,” says Nazia Zakir, assistant vice president of Environmental Health and Safety.

EHS worked hand in hand with the Georgia Tech Police Department to gather PPE from buildings across campus. The teams included a small crew of only essential campus workers who pulled together 167,900 gloves, more than 3,700 surgical and N95 masks, 6,000 shoe covers, and thousands of other items like eye protection, protective coveralls, and cleaning supplies. All from scientific labs whose work is on pause.

 “The people who are here have been working non-stop,” says Zakir. “It’s just so reassuring to see the generosity of our faculty to donate this PPE.”

Under the USG’s leadership, Georgia Tech is working with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) to identify where PPE and other supplies might be gathered from university campuses across the state.

GEMA and DPH will determine where supplies are needed the most, and workers from agencies at all levels are assisting with that effort. The Georgia Department of Transportation answered the call when larger trucks were needed to haul the items from Georgia Tech’s campus.

“This was definitely a team effort,” Zakir says.