Baltimore Sister Cities

baltimoresistercities.org

S.O.S – Save Our Sister

— May 29, 2020 —

B.S.C. logo, map of world, Baltimore city seal. Sister cities: Alexandria, Luxor, Changwon, Gbarnga, Kawasaki, Piraeus, Rotterdam, Xiamen

Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. (BSC) is excited and honored to announce that its member organization, the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC) has arranged for the shipment of 50,000 surgical masks from Xiamen, China, to the City of Baltimore. BXSCC continues a long tradition of Chinese immigrants coming to the aid of the United States, from those who were critical to the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century to those who served in America’s wars and to those now helping Baltimore see the other side of this pandemic.

When BXSCC Chair Xin (Cindy) Wang began receiving requests for PPE (personal protective equipment) within Baltimore and from the State of Maryland, she reached out to the Xiamen Foreign Affairs Office as well as possible PPE providers in Xiamen.

With confirmation from Xiamen that the City could indeed provide masks, Wang began working with Hosea Chew, Director of Administration for the Office of Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, and the Chinese Embassy. Other Xiamen Sister Cities began receiving smaller PPE shipments and Wang began fielding daily calls about shipment logistics to Baltimore with freight forwarders, lawyers, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and customs officials.

The City of Xiamen is covering the cost of the masks themselves as well as shipment to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The City of Baltimore is clearing the masks through customs and shipping them from New York to Baltimore. Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc, as the importer of record and a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is exempt from import duties and will be donating the masks to the City of Baltimore.

Twenty-five boxes of surgical masks—551 pounds—arrived in Baltimore on May 28. They will be stored at Baltimore’s Emergency Operation Center and distributed based on requests from hospitals or other institutions in need.

Contact

Tharwat Abouraya, President
Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc.

For more information about Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC), visit their site at bxscc.org.

Photo from the press conference at Baltimore City Hall on May 29, 2020. Left: BXSCC Chair Xin (Cindy) Wang; Ben England from Benjamin L. England & Associates, LLC | FDAImports.com; right: Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. Photo by Ziling (Jay) Guo.

Other press releases

Baltimore Mayor’s Office press release

Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee press release (PDF)

Video message from Xin (Cindy) Wang, Chair, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee

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Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. No goods or services were provided for this gift. Please consult your tax advisor regarding specific questions about your deductions.

 

Web site copyright © 2023 Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc.

logo-baltimoreBaltimore sister city committees operate under the auspices of the City of Baltimore’s Office of the Mayor.

 

Brandon M. Scott, Mayor

 

Previous mayor’s Dec 2015 press release about Baltimore Sister Cities.

 

Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. is a 501c3 organization incorporated in the State of Maryland.
Member of  Sister Cities International, Maryland Nonprofits, World Trade Center Institute, Visit Baltimore, & affiliate of Maryland International Education Consortium.
Recipient of 2016 Innovation Award from Sister Cities International.