FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Throughout the early part of the month, Robert and Jonathan Kraft worked side by side with Governor Charlie Baker to ensure the prompt delivery of N-95 masks to Massachusetts.
Governor Baker put forth a monumental effort to secure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the state's medical personnel, but an ongoing issue had been the ability to get the equipment delivered. The Kraft family stepped in to offer up the services of the Patriots team plane to deliver the vital equipment needed to stem the tide of COVID-19.
“As I said before, ordering vital equipment like this is only one part of the challenge and I am incredibly grateful that the Krafts worked this issue relentlessly alongside our Command Center staff to get these critical supplies to Massachusetts,” the governor said.
On top of offering the use of the team plane to deliver equipment, the Kraft family donated $2 million to the purchase of the N-95 masks for Massachusetts and bought an additional 300,000 N-95 masks to donate to the state of New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo has been a leading voice in the battle against COVID-19 as New York City has been hit hard by the virus.
“It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission. We knew that purchasing greatly-needed N95 masks and providing the Patriots plane to expedite their delivery to local hospitals would immediately help protect our courageous healthcare professionals,” Robert Kraft said in the statement.
Working in conjunction with Chinese Ambassador Huang Ping, the plane was loaded early on the morning of Thursday, April 2 with more than 1 million N-95 masks and arrived back to Boston on that afternoon.
Robert Kraft, Founder, Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, and his family are active members of the forest products industries through several of their companies, including Rand-Whitney, International Forest Products, and New-Indy.