Jabil gives away thousands of masks

Jabil has distributed thousands of surgical grade masks to first responders and others in the St. Petersburg community.

The mask donations came even as Jabil (NYSE: JBL), a manufacturing solutions provider and the largest company headquartered in St. Petersburg, deals with extra expenses from business disruption due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company just announced pay cuts for top executives and board members because of the crisis.

The company said in a news release that it was important to think about the health, safety and well-being of others during these challenging times.

Jabil, which has significant operations in China, received the masks from the government of Wuxi, a city in south China, the news release said.

The company wanted to share them with the community, so the Jabil Cares team reached out to nonprofits, small businesses and essential services they’ve built relationships with over the years to provide them personal protection equipment to conduct business in a safe manner.

Volunteers helped distribute 17,000 masks to food banks, domestic violence shelters, police and fire departments and a refuge for military heroes. Many of these organizations are seeing their resources stretched right now due to the demand for their services, Jabil said.

“It was important to show the community we’re thinking of them right now,”  Dawn Shields, director of communications at Jabil, said in the news release. “We are humbled to provide these materials to help them serve others in need.”