As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the globe, the many ties between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and China has resulted in an outpouring of outreach – whether through personal messages or organized donation drives – between alumni, faculty, students and friends.
Here are some examples of the many acts of kindness we have learned about:
- The Chinese Undergraduate Student Association
(CUSA) coordinated a campus fundraiser in January to raise money for the purchase of masks and protective coveralls for a hospital in Wuhan. Chinese students donated over $6,000. On February 3, the first of two deliveries purchased with the donations arrived at Huazhong University of Science and Technology’s Tongji Medical College clinic in Wuhan. Printed on the boxes were the phrases: “武汉加油” and “同济医院加油” which translates approximately to “Be strong, Wuhan and Tongji Hospital.” - The UW Chinese Visiting Scholars Association
teamed up with a UW Chinese parents group to coordinate a donation of over 20,000 face-masks to the UW-Health University Hospital. The donations, labeled with the message “Same sky, same world,” arrived in Madison in March. “Their immediate response is that they would do what they could to help Madison and the UW,” said UW-Madison Curriculum & Instruction Professor Thomas Popkewitz. - Nanjing University’s Technology Transfer, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Office was
preparing for a joint UW-Nanjing University conference this time last year. When Office Director Gao Xinfang checked in with his Madison friends this spring, he learned that the university hospital’s supply of protective gear was running low. Mr. Gao and his staff rushed over 1000 disposable masks and a box of 20 N95 masks to the Wisconsin China Initiative. The materials, valued at over $800, were delivered to the UW Health donations collection site on Friday April 3, carrying the label “谢谢南京大学!,” which translates to “Thank you, Nanjing University.”
Do you have examples to add to our list? Send them to the Wisconsin China Initiative!