Doing Good While Staying Well: How Zebra is Giving Back to Local Communities During the COVID-19 Outbreak

We’re sharing our time, talent and technology to ensure those on the front lines of this fight can gain an operational and intelligence advantage without compromising their well-being.

Masks made by Zebra employees from the Brno office

by Therese Van Ryne

April 23, 2020

In March, I mentioned that Zebra is donating $25,000 to the Red Cross to support its COVID-19 relief efforts and inviting others to join us to raise even more money in the coming weeks.

We have also been working since the start of the year to support local communities around the world in their fight against this virus, beginning with an in-kind donation of barcode printers and supplies to two hospitals in China so that they could produce and scan patient ID wristbands, patient records and specimen labels. This was quickly followed by cash donations from Zebra employees across the Greater China region to the Wuhan Charity Foundation.

In March, COVID-19 was starting to reach new regions around the world, prompting an unprecedented call for assistance from government leaders and non-profits alike. Zebra stepped into action to:

Purchase and donate 10,000 protective face masks to an Italian parcel delivery company for use by the company’s front-line workers.
Share Zebra’s in-house call center technology and training with a hospital in Penang, Malaysia, to help it keep up with increasing daily call volumes as a result of COVID-19 inquiries.
Partner with ScanSource to donate 1 Euro to the Red Cross for every single Zebra printer or scanner sold and 2 Euros for Zebra Healthcare Scanners.
Donate barcode printers and supplies to a California university that transformed its innovative genomics diagnostic testing lab into a fast-turnaround, high-quality COVID-19 testing lab.

Several Zebras have also been donating their personal time to help those most in need. For example:

In Brno, employees started sewing cloth face masks and donating them to a local nursing home and two other nonprofit organizations.
Zebra employees in London volunteered their time to help configure and connect printers at a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients.
Employees in France helped the local Red Cross deliver food to vulnerable people, service accommodations for the homeless and support the solidarity telephone concierge system for those in social isolation.

Even as you’re reading this, Zebras are:

Donating their personal home computer processing power to become part of a massively parallel computer network used by researchers and scientists all over the world to synthesize proteins and consequentially develop cures and vaccines for COVID-19.
Creating 3D-printed face shields for front-line workers and healthcare professionals.

The 3D face shields being created by Zebra employees in Arkansas and donated to doctors and nurses

The human impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been significant, and we remain committed as a company and as individuals to do everything we can to uplift the heroes on the front lines and bring a renewed strength and spirit to the communities in which we live and work.

Stay tuned into Your Edge for more updates on how we are “doing good while staying well,” and feel free to reach out if you would like to contribute your time and talents to any of our ongoing charitable activities.

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Therese Van Ryne

Therese Van Ryne is Global Director of PR, Thought Leadership and Advocacy for Zebra Technologies. One of PR News’ 2019 Top Women in PR and Crain's Chicago's 2021 Most Notable Executives in Marketing, Therese also has experience as a journalist, editor and producer, reporting nightly from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.