To the Chicago History Museum community,

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, supporting our community in the fight to contain the virus is more important than ever. As the local medical community let it be known that PPE (personal protective equipment) was in short supply, we realized that getting the PPE that we use at the museum everyday was needed at area hospitals.

At the Chicago History Museum, we use nitrile gloves every day to protect museum artifacts from oils and other contaminates on hands – not to mention to protect our Collections and Exhibitions staff from any potential hazardous substances that may sit on the artifacts upon acquisition (think: lead, radium, asbestos)! N95 face masks, eye protection, and polyethylene aprons are also used to protect staff during conservation treatment of artifacts.

Museums around the globe purchase PPE for these very reasons. While we are closed to the public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, our supplies are best utilized by the healthcare workers on the frontlines at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

Continuing to fight the spread of COVID-19 is a responsibility we all share. Yesterday, at 11:00 am, Britta Arendt Collection Manager at the Chicago History Museum, met with Daniel J. Ruiz, Senior Manager of Supply Chain Operations at the hospital to drop off a donation of the following supplies:

• 63 boxes of nitrile gloves in all sizes, 6,300 pairs total
• 9 boxes of N95 masks, 90 masks total
• 100 polyethylene aprons
• 20 pairs of shoe covers
• 16 tyvek hoodies
• 4 tyvek coverall suits 
• 8 pairs protective eye wear 

Our sincerest gratitude to Britta Arendt and Holly Lundberg, among other Collections and Exhibitions staff, for their compassion and quick action to make this vital donation possible.

We hope our community is staying safe and healthy, and are enjoying our “Sharing Chicago Stories, every day” series. Looking forward to seeing everybody back in the Museum as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Gary T. Johnson
President, Chicago History Museum