Warrington alumni in China donate masks to UF and the world

As the world continues to battle the coronavirus, medical equipment supplies have dwindled, leaving first responders and health care workers with a shortage of much needed personal protection equipment. Business Gators from around the world have stepped up to the plate to help those in need during the unprecedented times we find ourselves in. Two of those alumni, Jane Sun and Hillary Wang, have donated more than 3 million masks to medical and essential workers around the globe. Read more about the donations from these two China-based alumnae.

Jane Sun (BSAc ’92)

Jane Sun has long been a leader who the business community looks to for insights and initiative ideas on running a successful company. As the CEO of China’s largest online travel services provider, Trip.com, her leadership decisions shed light on how a company can make a difference when its industry and customers have been impacted by disaster.

Most recently, Sun has again stepped up to the plate, with Trip.com donating 3 million surgical masks worldwide to countries in need of essential medical supplies as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic. The mask donation initiative, first announced on March 18, has since expanded to provide masks to over 25 countries and was created in the hopes of providing worldwide relief and to encourage countries to work together to secure a victory for humanity, according to a press release.

“Going forward, we’ll take this challenge in our stride, and lead the travel industry to flourish once again,” Sun said. “Let’s continue to work together, to beat this challenge, and towards an exciting next step for the travel industry.”

Hillary Wang (MIB ’13)

After Hillary Wang watched from Shanghai as COVID-19 devastated China, she knew she wanted to help as it started to spread around the United States.

Wang knew exactly how to help. She shipped 1,000 surgical masks to Gainesville – 500 to UF Health and 500 to the Warrington College of Business, where they would be used by the IT department as the college ramps up activities in the future.

“The reason was rather simple – I just wanted to help,” Wang said. “China had gone through the outbreak earlier than the rest of the world, and I know the process is painful and tough. My mom worked in our local hospital to treat COVID-19 patients as a nurse back in February, so I always know how important protection equipment is to everyone, especially the medical workers.

“My donation is really little compare to what is needed, but I believe more people will step in to help and we will all come out of this crisis to become stronger!”

Today, Wang is the Director of Global Sourcing at Beijing HaoQiao International Travel Agency Limited.