Bridgestone donations support Boys and Girls Clubs

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—School supply lists are a little bit longer this year with the addition of face coverings, requirements for many districts as they look to resume in-person learning in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bridgestone Americas Inc. is helping to ensure that kids in Tennessee state have access to at least one of the items on that list.

The Nashville-based tire maker recently donated 10,000 Bridgestone- and Firestone-branded face coverings to Boys and Girls Clubs across Tennessee. The masks—all child-sized to ensure safe and proper fit—will be distributed as part of back-to-school packets.

"We are thankful to Bridgestone for their donation of masks that will help provide an essential piece of personal protective equipment vital for our Club youth across the state of Tennessee," LaQuinta McGhee, chief operating officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, said in a statement. "Whether the kids are at our Club, school, or with their parents at the grocery store, it's important they wear a mask as we all continue to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19."

Bridgestone was one of 30 companies to make such a donation, as part of Tennessee's TN Strong Mask Movement. The program, under the umbrella of Gov. Bill Lee's Economic Recovery Group, brought together some of the state's flagship brands to ensure 300,000 free or low-cost face coverings were available to residents.

That initiative has grown to include a total of 70 Tennessee businesses, universities and sports teams, pledging to donate 700,000 masks to the state's residents.

"As a corporate citizen of Tennessee with operations in multiple local communities across the state, we wanted to participate in Gov. Lee's TN Strong Mask Movement to provide Tennesseans with face coverings to help mitigate the spread of (the) coronavirus," Christine Karbowiak, vice chair, chief administrative officer, chief risk officer and executive vice president for Bridgestone Americas said. "Providing child-sized face coverings to area Boys & Girls Club kids was a simple way we could help our longtime partner while also supporting our community at large."

Bridgestone has partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs since 2015. Through 2019, the tire maker has donated more than $10.5 million to the organization. In April, Bridgestone directed all of its first-quarter customer donations to the Boys and Girls Clubs COVID-19 Relief Fund, providing $840,000. The money, Bridgestone said, will be used to help meet the immediate needs of Clubs during the pandemic.