This is Miao Quyun (Qiao? Miao) China, 2019, a new type of news. The coronavirus is coming to Michigan in waves.
Reality verified his hunch. At 10 a.m. on October 23, Beijing time, Hubei Province and Wuhan, the thoroughfares of nine provinces in China, announced traffic closures.
90-year-old Li is from Beihu. He wants to build a new Chinatown in Detroit, and he is also aware of the seriousness of the situation. At that time, he was like an ant on a hot pot, tossing and turning and at a loss. He could only keep in touch with relatives and friends at home, hoping to get first-hand information.
He said: "You know, in history, there has never been such a large-scale isolation in human history. The city in the distance is where I was born and grew up. There are my parents, there are Most of my relatives and friends, as well as more than 10 million enthusiastic and straightforward Wuhan people”
“What should we do if we are full of powerlessness? What can little people like you and me do except be dumbfounded. What?" Miao Quyun finally thought of this and stood up. He led his team and issued a message calling for "wake up, wake up." "This is our Chernobyl, our 911, our Japanese tsunami."
Soon, his suggestion received positive responses from friends such as Liu, Nie and Grace? Cai, Liu Jingyan, Tao Xian, Zou Daqing, Lisa? Gray, Chen Lian, Yu, Gao Bonian, Jia Shan, Nie Zifeng, Lu Linglan, Tan Guangming, Qiu Shanshan... He has more and more friends in the WeChat group. Everyone has the same idea and feels that he must do something Order something.
For a time, there was a swarm of news about the shortage of masks, protective clothing, and goggles in Wuhan. They feel that the doctors fighting on the front line are great and pitiful.
Li Jiefu also believes that even a weak light can at least illuminate a little darkness. Fortunately, when he came up with this idea, he was quickly pulled into this WeChat group by his friend Qiu Shanshan.
On October 23, 65438, these Chinese people living and working in Michigan decided to set up a "Michigan Support Group", thinking of doing their part to fight the epidemic. Their purpose is to provide help in times of need, not to add to the cake, but to help a little.
Miao Quyun said: "At the beginning, not every friend around me understood or was enthusiastic, but frontline medical staff kept coming from all over the country to cry and complain, and the elders in my hometown were even more powerless. We are a group of people, can we? Up. We keep our heads down and do things. In just one day, the number of members in the support group’s WeChat group has grown from single digits to nearly a hundred. Thirty-four organizations, including the North American Chinese Business Club, the North American Chinese Engine Engineers Association, and the Michigan Youth Energy Foundation (mYe), have joined the support group, including almost all Chinese organizations in Michigan.
When the Michigan Support Association was established, it quickly made the decision: unified purchasing, unified transportation, and every aspect of donations must be controlled by the support association itself and be absolutely controllable.
Subsequently, the staff of the support group quickly and spontaneously established a detailed and clear division of labor, which was divided into financial group, purchasing group, Chinese logistics group, American logistics group, publicity group, etc., each group was operated by professionals.
For example, members of the financial team include American certified public accountants, charitable organizations and professional auditors; for example, the procurement team has doctors with rich professional knowledge, employees with procurement experience, and even medical material procurement qualifications. This ensured the professionalism of every step and greatly improved work efficiency.
While confirming that the donation was made by themselves, they made the second and wise decision, which was to determine the receiving unit and purchase. , logistics channels, and open donation channels at the same time.
At first, many people suggested that for the sake of insurance, we should wait until everything is confirmed before accepting donations, so as to avoid unnecessary liability issues. However, Miao disagreed. . He said: "We are at war now, and no one will wait for you on the battlefield. When we encounter problems, we will find ways to solve them, and we will bear the pressure together."
"Thinking about it now, this is Extremely correct.
"He said, "As far as I know, some support clubs in other places that were established at the same time have not yet delivered a batch.
Time is running out and fighters fly fast. It was impossible for the Michigan support group to apply for a new bank account. Grace Tsai volunteered to use my account to accept donations. "Sometimes we have to understand," she said , we are all human beings, we cannot save the world, we can only do our best and be worthy of our own conscience. Things will eventually pass, just like SARS. We hope that our little efforts can help shorten this process a little bit. "
65438+On the evening of October 23, the donation channel was officially opened, and it was clearly stated in the external publicity: "Your funding is welcome, and we will unify procurement and transportation. ”
On October 24, a batch of 1,200 medical masks was sent to Shanghai, of which 1,000 will be sent to Luwang Town, Dawu County, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province, and the other 200 will be sent to Xiangyang City, Hubei Province.
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At 0:00 pm, which is the first day of the Lunar New Year on June 25, 65438 Beijing time, the Michigan Football Association sent an article to "Dear Compatriots of Michigan" through its official WeChat account such as "Chinatown" Wuhan is in trouble, Michigan supports", officially announcing the establishment of the Michigan Support Association.
The article stated that "the epidemic in Wuhan across the ocean affects everyone's hearts," so they decided to "do their part." He proposed to donate money and materials, and said, "The day Wuhan recovers will be the Chinese New Year, and the whole country will celebrate together."
As a result, many of the 50,000 Chinese working in various jobs in Michigan. People belonging to the Autobots and Chinese students studying there hurriedly took action and launched an unprecedented emergency rescue operation.
These people, regardless of gender, age and seniority, put their work aside. Either put their studies aside temporarily or risk being fired. In less than a week, they raised the largest amount of money in the history of Chinese people in Michigan. Payment, purchase, processing, statistics, and statistics are all connected.
On February 1, the daily announcement of the Michigan Wuhan Support Association’s organizing committee posted a speech by Li Jiefu. Our donations and supplies were spot on, down to a pair of gloves, and not a penny was diverted.
Turned professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. , Professor Chen Yubao, director of the China Project, is a silent supporter of the support group. He told Automotive Business Review, “The enthusiasm was very high at the beginning, but it is this support group that really insists on doing practical things. They are rational and pragmatic, and the principles they set originally were very correct. ”
On February 3, Miao posted a photo of an open book in his WeChat circle of friends. On the title page was a line from Shakespeare’s play “Cymbeline”: Let us be calm and welcome Our own era.
Transparent process
Although the epidemic in Wuhan and Hubei was serious and medical supplies were in serious shortage, the Chinese in Michigan were also eager to lend a helping hand. However, at the beginning, there was no news about this sudden appearance. The grapevine of the organization that receives donations. Some people even think that this is a fuss or a suspicion of money fraud.
The method of the Michigan Support Group Organizing Committee is to make everything public. In the first article of "In times of difficulty, Michigan supports", it not only informs the donation account (mYe) and the way to display proof of charitable donation, but also informs the simple procurement and logistics process, answers to related questions, and members of the organizing committee and relevant participating units, etc.
They particularly emphasized that this is a voluntary activity by volunteers. “From the moment we receive the donation from Donor 1, we have taken the responsibility to use and manage the donation well. responsibility. In addition to internal financial audits, we want to be open and strive to give you a dynamic report every day or the next day. ”
Seriously, Grace. Cai not only volunteered to provide a donation platform to collect donations, but also asked others to participate in accounting and auditing, even though these people were not familiar with each other. This is equivalent to completely removing their financial information. Exposed to the public. Moreover, in a few days, more than 1,000 receipts, more than 100,000 yuan, and the same amount of expenses must be kept separate from the accounts of my own organization, which is a huge workload.
At about 11 the next night, the announcement number. 01-25-04 "Michigan Support Group 65438 + October 25th Progress Report" was sent through the official WeChat account.
The announcement announced that the Michigan Support Club was officially named the Michigan Wuhan Support Club, with a unified logo - W (symbolizing Wuhan) and M (symbolizing Michigan) connected together.
At the same time, the members of each department of the organizing committee previously shown in the notification have been changed to sole personal contacts to avoid confusion caused by multiple contacts. ?
"Automotive Business Review" noted that each announcement has a strict serial number and release time. Openness and transparency, rigorous management, and scientific decision-making have become the principles that the Michigan Football Association has adhered to from the beginning.
The Michigan Support Association Organizing Committee releases dynamic announcements every night around 12, announcing that the names of all donors will be disclosed in the future for donors to check.
In order to let more people know the first-hand news about the donation activities of the support groups at the first time, the publicity team learns the latest developments from each group every night. To sum up, the editing, typesetting, publishing, and forwarding of text, pictures, and videos basically take place in the middle of the night, and in a few cases even close to three o'clock. Most people have to go to work early in the morning.
The Michigan Football Association Organizing Committee is reporting to the outside world almost every day. In order to ensure financial transparency, process transparency, earmarked funds, and best use of resources, supervision and guidance are welcome.
At the same time, they promised to eventually publish all data and receipts to let the public know every penny donated. They even like to invite Blum (Butzel? Dragon) Law Firm to assist in providing relevant legal services. ?
In fact, the strict program design of each link also ensures that there will be no confusion. After the donated materials are purchased, they will be stored in a centralized warehouse in Guangzhou. After the warehouse receives the goods, it will be checked against the data submitted by the purchasing team, signed on the receipt, and notified to the purchasing team. The agent of the purchasing team will take a photo of the warehouse receipt voucher and submit it to statistician Cao Jin or send it directly to the finance team. Volunteers then package the materials.
65438+ On the morning of October 26th, Beijing time, a batch of 1,200 donated medical masks arrived in Shanghai via DHL, waiting for customs clearance. The organizing committee of the support group believes that 1 this batch of goods is not large due to time constraints, but its significance is that they can connect the entire process, including transportation channels to distribution channels, which is very useful for the subsequent transportation of large quantities of materials.
Because procurement, packaging, and logistics are busy, there is not enough manpower. For donors who have been asking when they will receive their donation receipts, we have repeatedly told them that they will follow the work arrangements of the organizing committee of the support club. At present, the workload of the finance team is extremely heavy, and a financial audit will be carried out afterwards. Once the review is complete, a donation receipt will be sent to each donor. "Please keep records of your donations for verification."
65438 + October 25th at 8:30 pm, not including the many unaccounted checks, in a little more than a day, Michigan The Wuhan Support Association has quickly raised 720 donations, amounting to * * * US$86,191.28.
Dr. Song’s son from the Detroit R&D Center of Chai Wei Group donated all the winnings he had accumulated bit by bit from playing chess for many years. Half was donated to Australian animal rescue, and the other half was donated to the Michigan Support Group. in this anti-epidemic action. Dr. Song and his wife donated according to the ratio of 1:1. He said it was a little thought from his family.
Two days later, the number of donations reached 873, with a total amount of US$115,903.30, breaking the historical record for Chinese donations in Michigan.
65438 On the evening of October 28, in just five days, US$125,551 (approximately RMB 876,5438+0,000 yuan) had been raised, breaking the historical record of Chinese donations in Michigan. . The Michigan Support Group has decided to suspend accepting donations until October 29, 2018 at 8:00 pm.
After the news of the suspension of donations was issued, many people, especially organizers of group donations, requested that the deadline be postponed. At the same time, more pressing needs from the front lines were fed back to the support team. On October 29, 2018, the organizing committee decided to extend the deadline for donation activities to February 2018.
On June 365438+October 31, in view of the fact that the United States declared the coronavirus epidemic a public health emergency and most flights between China and the United States were canceled, causing great obstacles to donation logistics, the support club decided to advance Donations will be closed on one day.
Although the channel was closed, there were still enthusiastic people who sent the funds raised through the unified donation.
As of February 3, a total of 1,138 donations had been received, with a total amount of US$162,419, or approximately RMB 1,137,000.
Miao told "Automotive Business Review" that there are about 50,000 registered Chinese in the entire state of Michigan, which is far less than California and New York. But what is particularly touching is that the Michigan Support Association has gathered almost all active Associations, Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the three places have unprecedented unity and show touching love.
As a member of the support group, the Michigan Youth Empowerment Foundation (mYe) has seven young volunteers who help organize and subcontract various medical supplies. They also send their praises and blessings to the angels in white. The pictures were sent to the front line of the fight against the epidemic. A blessing card reads: "You are the most beautiful angels, and we also care about your safety."
Difficult purchases
When the support club of Wuhan, Michigan received When it came time to donate, Ms. Xie Hong, who was in charge of purchasing from the organizing committee of the Michigan Wuhan Support Association, led the purchasing team to set off quickly.
The list of purchased items is as follows: protective clothing, disposable isolation gowns, medical surgical masks, medical protective masks N95, medical caps, protective shoe covers, hand sanitizer, disposable disinfectant wipes, disposable protective masks , goggles, medical rubber gloves, chlorine-containing disinfectant.
But buying materials worth several thousand yuan is not as simple as going to a drugstore and saying to the clerk, "Boss, give me 20,000 masks." “Everyone comes with enthusiasm, doesn’t know much about medical products, and doesn’t know where to buy them,” she said.
At that time, a Chinese student in the United States launched the "Million Masks" campaign, saying that 3.4 million sets of protective clothing would be distributed to Wuhan. However, in 2014, it was discovered that there was a backlog of industrial protective clothing, and domestic companies or institutions were not allowed to provide it. Don’t spend huge sums of money to buy it and end up becoming a laughing stock.
Industrial protective clothing is not suitable for front-line medical workers. So, where will the Michigan Wuhan Support Club purchase such supplies?
Medical procurement in the United States is roughly divided into three levels: the first level is hospitals; the second level is various outpatient clinics, such as specialist outpatient clinics, rapid outpatient clinics, emergency outpatient clinics, etc.; and the third level is pharmacies in society. "You can place an order at a drug store, but even if you order 500,000 yuan, you are only in the third echelon."? Miao Quyun said, "For example, only 654.38 million masks are produced in a month. In the United States, priority will always be given to hospitals and 60,000 to clinics. The bottom layer is open to you, but you can't get that much, and everyone has to move around. ”
The so-called ant moving relies on more people buying bits and pieces everywhere. However, common channels are basically out of stock, so we have to order from manufacturers. However, not everyone can buy medical devices casually, and they need medical qualifications. Masks are easier to handle, but protective clothing is a big problem. Internationally high-quality medical protective clothing generally comes from DuPont and 3M. Like DuPont? Tyvek? 800. Tyvek? 600. Tyvek? 400. TYVEK is a unique material made of 100% high-density polyethylene spunbonded by DuPont's patented process. It combines the material properties of paper, film and fabric. The higher the label, the stronger the protection.
Ms. Xie Hong led the purchasing team to work almost until one o'clock in the morning, but some of the products were either out of stock, unqualified, or not sold to individuals, only to companies. The Progressive Gazette, a Michigan support group, has also been issuing near-daily calls for help with procurement. Students at the University of Michigan, Chinese doctors' clinics, and Chinese doctors and nurses from major hospitals in the United States have all joined this procurement war and actively provided help.
Every item purchased has been investigated, compared, appraised, and contrasted by the buyer online for several hours. The buyer communicated with the merchant through phone calls and emails time and time again, and took the trouble to confirm with the doctors and nurses around him. He even directly contacted doctors in domestic hospitals to confirm that the purchased items were “medical (dental, surgical? use) and FDA certified products.
Xie Hong said: “While looking at WeChat, When watching the news, we pay special attention to what doctors wear, what front-line doctors wear, what second-line doctors wear, and what nurses wear. We are always exploring ideas and looking for sources of supply. For example, if the supplies for front-line doctors are out of stock, is it possible to find supplies for second-line doctors but not N95 medical masks? And then buy surgery? level? 3 and so on. "
Due to the particularity of medical articles and the differences in standards between China and the United States, verification of compliance is particularly important. The procurement team has a dedicated person to review and approve before placing an order, without wasting a penny. Once, I I finally found something I was willing to sell. At this time, the donation statistics from the financial department have not yet been released.
Chen Yu and others from the purchasing department did not hesitate to directly advance tens of thousands of dollars in private. Time waits for no one, I will buy it first. ?
Their purchasing purpose is "large quantity, few models" to facilitate later logistics, transportation and customs clearance. Once you find a good channel and brand, you will often buy out the goods. Then develop new channels. However, as more and more Chinese American groups join the ranks of aiding Wuhan, procurement has become increasingly difficult, and many orders for popular supplies are in "back order" status.
In the announcement numbered 01-27-06, the Michigan Support Group sent out an "urgent" message for help: Professionals are urgently needed to help explore procurement channels for various medical supplies. If you are familiar with medical, pharmaceutical, biological research, logistics, procurement and other related industries, please contact us.
On October 30, 65438, as the U.S. State Department had warned China to Level 3 and the epidemic screening scope was expanded to 20 airports, there was a "Chinese people purchased all the local masks, causing local security to be unable to guarantee”.
In view of the limited actual resources, the organizing committee decided not to accept new requests for help from medical institutions, and the material team’s focus shifted to digesting existing needs and tracking the arrival of purchased materials.
Following the purchase of 1,200 masks on October 25, the second batch of 114 protective clothing arrived at the warehouse on the 27th, and the first batch of 1,240 protective clothing arrived on the 28th. As of 8 pm on February 1 (Saturday), has the procurement of medical materials reached a breakthrough? 90,000 yuan, and the overall inspection occupies 8 plates.
In order to familiarize Chinese doctors with the use of some protective equipment in the United States. Like a ratchet? The support group volunteer headgear specially gave a concise explanation in Chinese.
For another example, in order to facilitate front-line personnel to receive goods, a QR code is specially designed, and the consignee can scan it directly with his mobile phone. ?
"Now we are still looking for protective clothing. A large number of domestic protective clothing are disposable non-woven fabrics, which cannot enter high-dye areas and can barely be used in sterile areas. Currently, Wuhan has 500,000 sets per month There is a shortage of protective clothing and there is no actual supply of 50,000 sets," Miao Quyun told Automotive Business Review, "We still urgently need professionals to help explore various new medical material procurement channels."
Struggling with logistics?
Sending help in times of need, rather than adding icing on the cake, is the concept of donating medical supplies that the Michigan Wuhan Support Association has determined from the beginning.
Of the first batch of 1,200 medical masks, 1,000 came to Wanglu Town, Dawu County, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province. The other 200 were originally supplied to Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, but were eventually withdrawn due to one reason. It was transferred to Wuhan and sent to the volunteer convoy. Wherever there is the greatest shortage of people, we will go.
In addition to Wuhan, Xiaogan is one of the hardest-hit areas in Hubei, but its medical conditions are much worse than Wuhan. There are 30,000 people in this town, one-third of whom came back from Wuhan to work. Because traffic is closed, there are basically no masks in the town. Michigan Support Corps wants to help them with their immediate needs.
As the publicity work deepened, the assistance group continued to receive information in need of assistance, and the area expanded from Hubei to several surrounding provinces and cities, and the list became longer and longer.
The support team has had three clear principles for selecting material receiving units (hospitals) from the beginning: first come, first served, and then based on insufficient supplies; demand is flexible and can be adjusted according to the material procurement progress of the support team; hospital donors Must be friends and relatives familiar to the support group.
"Don't change hands to people we don't know, to avoid accidents." Miao Quyun said, this is very important. Because there is anxiety in this regard from the outside world. For example, at the beginning of the donation, some people hoped that the flow of materials would be more specific, such as when and where, how much materials would be donated to which institutions, and what the situation of these institutions was. In this way the donor cannot be a benevolent volunteer.
It can be said that the Michigan Football Association Organizing Committee has taken this aspect into consideration perfectly. Not only did they set up a tracking QR code on every wholesale supply, they also set up a supply tracker, requiring that someone they knew at each logistics connection point must pick it up, and they must take photos, scan the QR code, and confirm the Detroit base camp information. The hospital's receiving party maintains hotline contact with the material tracking party. After the materials arrive, the consignee of the hospital directly scans the code and enters the goods number, receiving hospital, consignee's name, and phone number. The support group will announce it as soon as it is received.
However, in times of crisis, it is very difficult to smoothly transport supplies to their destinations. Cross-border transportation of a large amount of medical supplies poses problems for customs clearance.
When we arrived in China, Hubei was closed. How can I send it in? The logistics team used every conceivable connection to solve this problem, contacting all connections that would never be used for personal matters. In order to connect with China, the logistics team is staying up late every day.
Luckily, Michigan is a big car state. There are many first-tier and second-tier suppliers in China, all of which have branches here. This makes it possible for all supplies to be donated, in Detroit, and at every point in China, to be available to businesses to help.
The US branch of Kingfa Technology, which manufactures plastic pellets related to automotive materials, provides warehouse and human support, while Corrigan, which manufactures auto parts logistics? Air? & amp? ocean? Cargo is responsible for arranging the delivery of goods; in China, Guangze Auto Parts Co., Ltd. in Dongguan and Camel Group's Automotive Battery Company in Xiangyang both provide customs clearance and transportation assistance.
On October 29, 65438, the second batch of supplies was sent to Hong Kong by Delta Airlines. It is expected to arrive at its final destination, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, on February 5, local time. The support group followed Lu Linglan. This shipment includes two pallets, one containing 6 sets of 65 boxes of protective clothing and 390 sets of protective clothing; the other contains 28 boxes of 25 sets of protective clothing and 5 boxes of 6 sets of protective clothing and 730 sets. ?
The third batch of supplies, 65438+, was sent to Shanghai on October 30. It includes two trays. One pallet contains 24 protective suits, 600 surgical masks, 1,000 goggles and 900 masks. The destination is the Third People's Hospital of Yichang City, and the followers of the support group are Zhong Zhiwei and Wang Xiaoxue. Another pallet contains 42 sets of protective clothing, 1,750 surgical masks, 5,000 masks, 500 masks? . Its final destination is not only Yichang Third People's Hospital, but also Xiaogan Central Health Center, and the support group has more followers than Li Jeff.
"Automotive Business Review" learned that because some medical supplies were directly donated by domestic students, the necessary medical certificates required by customs were missing, which wasted three precious days. October 365438 + October 31 As the United States enters a public health emergency, many planes are grounded, and now logistics to China has become a problem.
"This is huge. Without direct flights, we can only transfer to Canada, or companies like China Southern Airlines and Cathay Pacific." Miao said that the fourth batch of supplies is expected to be shipped from Detroit to Beijing on February 5, and eventually The destinations are eight hospitals in Wuhan, Huanggang and Xiangyang.
Since the delivery of this batch of medical supplies, the Michigan Aid Group has successively contacted the Hubei Charity Federation, Xiangyang Charity Federation, and Hebei Charity Federation. These organizations are customs clearance units stipulated by the state to accept donations, making it much easier for support groups to find them. For example, supplies to be delivered to Beijing are cleared by the Hebei Provincial Charity Federation, then sent by Hubei to pick them up, and finally delivered to the designated destination, which is still done by the team of the assistance group.
"It will be much smoother in the future." Miao breathed a sigh of relief but said worriedly, "But there are too many hospitals in our hospital, so there is no way, there are not enough. Masks must be able to keep up, protective clothing It’s a big deal.”
The Michigan support group’s work is far from over. Not only do we have to purchase materials and deliver them to the places in the country where they are most in short supply, but the follow-up review work has also begun.
On the morning of Sunday, February 2, Linglan, two volunteers from the support club? Lu? Then what. Covey? As a third party, Mao came to the Michigan Youth Empowerment Foundation (mYe) to conduct the first review of the assistance group’s donation collection as of June 65438 + October 31, which lasted more than three hours. On February 3, the Michigan Support Group's Progress Report released an audit report stating that a second internal audit would be conducted within two weeks.
"God bless China, the sight of warm spring and blooming flowers will not be too far away."? Liu, head of the publicity team of the Michigan Wuhan Supporters Association and president of the Jiao Tong University Michigan Alumni Association, wrote in WeChat Moments.
Optimistic predictions are that on February 10, the medical supplies raised by this charity operation, mainly protective clothing, will arrive in urgent need, and the support group operation in Wuhan, Michigan will also come to an end. But the love, enthusiasm and rational spirit of the Chinese in Michigan exuded by this action will not disappear for a long time. This is what the Chinese should have.
A domestic netizen left a message under a progress report from the Michigan Football Association: “There is love and action; there is thought and vision; there is overall planning and deployment; there is rhythm and discipline.
Great team doing great things, people thousands of miles away are paying tribute to you! Wish you all the best in another country! ! !"
Source of pictures in the article: Provided by interviewees
Chart: Zhang Meng
This article is from the author of Autohome, and does not represent the position of Autohome.