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Charles River Apparel Donates $30K Worth of Face Masks to Charity

The Top 40 promo products supplier’s donation was done in partnership with the New England Patriots Foundation and Bank of America.

Charles River Apparel (asi/44620) is on a mission to do some good.

The latest evidence of that came from the Top 40 promotional products supplier’s donation of 1,500 facemasks to Community Captains, a charitable program run by the New England Patriots Foundation in partnership with Bank of America.

The gifted Viromasks, a reusable fabric face covering that features HeiQ V-Block antimicrobial technology for advanced protection and moisture-wicking and anti-fog coating for comfort, have a value of about $30,000.

black face mask

Charles River Apparel donated 1,500 Viromasks to Community Captains.

“We know how essential these items are for nonprofits, and we feel honored to be able to help them continue providing key services safely during the pandemic,” said Barry Lipsett, president and CEO of Sharon, MA-based Charles River Apparel.

Community Captains is a program designed to build stronger connections with local nonprofits to maximize their impact. Over the next two years, the New England Patriots Foundation and Bank of America will work closely with six organizations to gain a deeper understanding of their mission and help them serve the community most effectively.

The masks Charles River donated will go to six Community Captain organizations: Abby’s House in Worcester, MA; La Colaborativa in Chelsea; the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Hatfield; Girls Inc. of the Valley in Holyoke; Sojourner House in Providence; and UTEC in Lowell. The masks benefit individuals seeking emergency housing and those enrolled in youth development programs.

Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation, said that the Community Captains program “is all about collaboration, so to have our good friends at Charles River Apparel recognize the value of this initiative and to offer their support to our six Community Captains is humbling.”

This isn’t the first time that Charles River has teamed up with the Pats Foundation. In June of 2020, Charles River Apparel worked with the New England Patriots Foundation and Revolution Charitable Foundation to donate 1,900 pieces of clothing to foster families, homeless shelters and domestic violence prevention organizations in the area.

“We are thrilled to partner once more with the New England Patriots Foundation and support their latest program,” said Lipsett.

Charles River Apparel has made giving back a core component of its business. In 2010, the company founded Charles River Cares, a charitable initiative focused on helping people in need.

With reported 2020 North American promotional product revenue of $34.1 million, Charles River Apparel ranked 40th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry.