Mary Kay Cosmetics
September 9, 2020
Mary Kay Inc. is directing COVID-19 support toward Native American communities, including a donation of nearly 75,000 units of hand sanitizer to the Indian Health Service.
Earlier in the year the company said it would provide nearly 10 million dollars in money and product distribution in communities where it operates. It has since expanded that commitment to more than 10 million dollars and widened partnerships toward populations hit harder by the virus.
One focus is the Navajo Nation, which the company said is seeing some of the highest COVID-19 cases per capita in the United States. The nation covers about 25,000 square miles across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and about 244,000 people live there. The company said the community has a higher infection rate than most and nearly 10,000 confirmed cases.
Chairman and chief executive David Holl said broad anti-virus efforts matter but that the most vulnerable communities also need attention, and he urged continued support for the Indian Health Service so frontline workers can limit spread and treat people already sick.
The Indian Health Service, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides medical and public health services to members of federally recognized tribes and to Alaska Native people. The company said the system serves about 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in 574 federally recognized tribes across 37 states. The sanitizer was used to stock 26 hospitals, 59 health centers, and 32 health stations in that network.
Mary Kay also supplied sanitizer to the Gallup Indian Medical Center for home hygiene kits and education. The center community response team is standardizing health and hygiene materials at places such as drive-through testing sites, with in-person conversations and written information in English and Navajo.
Rear Adm. Michael D. Weahkee, director of the Indian Health Service, said hand sanitizer is an important tool against COVID-19 and that donations help the service raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives during the pandemic.