Elyse Kroll, Leslie Gallin Team Up to Donate Fashion-Filled Gift Bags to LA Nurses Fighting Coronavirus
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Elyse Kroll is taking her not-for-profit effort — From Fashion, With Love — to the West Coast. After donating more than 3,000 gifts bags to volunteer nurses in New York as a small token of appreciation, the founder and former CEO of ENK International has teamed up with Leslie Gallin to bring the initiative to Los Angeles.
Gallin, the former president of footwear at Informa, has taken the helm of the free giveaway, organizing and working to secure donations. Today at the Sofitel Hotel, 150 volunteer nurses — who have traveled to L.A. to help in the fight against the coronavirus to support the staff at Cedar Sinai Hospital — will receive gifts bags filled with product donated by fashion brands including Birkenstock, Sam Edelman, Tommy Hilfiger, Rebecca Minkoff, Splendid, Reebok and more.
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A red carpet will also be there for nurses to be able to have their photo take.
“We know our nurses and doctors on the front line are not working any less,” Gallin told FN. “Perhaps now more than ever, it is the reason to set an example for our industry on the many ways to help our fellow men and women.”
The L.A. leg of the initiative was originally planned for May 29, however, given anti-racism protests that took place in the city, Kroll and Gallin decided to postpone the event out of respect and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus tallies continue to climb in California as well as in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Over the past week, the state of California has averaged 2,862 new cases and 67.1 new deaths per day, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
“While the event is a happy one, it continues to be a serious time,” added Kroll. “Nurses are still leaving their homes to go where they are needed most, and those nurses are still more brave than I, traveling into the eye of the storm. We want them to know that we see them, and as members of the fashion industry, we are appreciative and grateful, and want to offer them kindness in return.”
Kroll first kicked off the From Fashion, With Love effort in April, providing gifts bags filled with shoes, athleisure-wear, sleepwear, socks, beauty and wellness goods, to the nurses currently residing in New York. What started as a one-day event turned into an additional five more days of donating to nurses. The goal is to have the same impact in Los Angeles.
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