Consumer electronics company known globally for protecting electronic devices, partners with government and community agencies to protect the state’s most vulnerable populations

CHICAGO, IL (March 3, 2022) – Catalyst, known globally for their protective cases for smartphones and electronic devices, is donating more than 530,000 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) in order to help protect the state’s most vulnerable populations. Catalyst has a strong global distribution network, with U.S. warehouses in Illinois and Nevada. They are making the donation of face masks, KN95 filtering masks, face shields and other protective items to help communities where their business is rooted and growing.

The donation will provide more than 405,000 pieces of PPE to DCFS for distribution to employees and agency partners throughout the state. Another 125,000 pieces will be donated to CBCAC for distribution to member organizations and the local community. The donation, valued at $425,000 was facilitated through a partnership with Civic Leadership USA.

“At the height of the pandemic, when the world was scrambling to find appropriate PPE and medical supplies for daily protection, Catalyst was able to leverage our global networks and supply chain resources to secure millions of pieces of PPE in order to provide access and fill a critical need,” Catalyst CEO June Lai said.

While PPE is more widely available now than in the early stages of the pandemic, access is not always equitable or affordable. There is no better way we can think of to support Illinois communities than to provide this recourse to those who need it the most.”

DCFS and its private agencies employ more than 8,000 people statewide. The agency has more than 20,000 youth in its care. In any given year, DCFS interacts with nearly 50,000 clients through its state offices and private agency offices including counseling offices, residential facilities, group homes, transitional and independent living homes and more. These populations are typically the most vulnerable with limited access to recourses including PPE.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, DCFS employees have relied on PPE to help protect themselves and the children and families we serve,” DCFS Director Marc D. Smith said. “To help ensure our employees’ health and well-being, DCFS provided all of our staff across the state as well as our private not-for-profit partner agencies with PPE. This generous donation from Catalyst will help ease pressure on our budget and will be put to immediate use to provide a positive health benefit to our agencies and youth.”

The CBCAC works to impact the greater Chinatown community – which now totals over 27,000 – by uniting the resources of member organizations and individual members to empower Chinese American communities in Chicago.

“This gesture of support means a great deal to the Chinese American community,” CBCAC Executive Director Grace Chan McKibben said. “A donation of this magnitude brings assistance directly to our community members and we’re grateful to Catalyst for their generosity during a time when many are still struggling through the pandemic.”

“This is a fantastic example of the impact we can have as a global community when we’re ready and willing to help one another,” Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago said. “Thank you to Catalyst for the tremendous gesture of support and commitment to Illinois through business and community.”

Catalyst is providing a range of high quality, appropriate PPE to support the state need. Catalyst worked closely with a team of specialists throughout the sourcing, design and manufacturing process of their PPE, including regulatory and legal consultants with more than 60 years’ collective experience working at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to ensure the Catalyst products and processes met FDA guidelines and CDC recommendations.

For more information about Catalyst visit www.catalystcase.com