Irvine high school students create PPE donation website to support Black Lives Matter protesters

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- When protesters took to the streets in support of Black Lives Matter, a group of Orange County high school students took to their computers. They created BLM Supply Crate Dot-Org, a website linking donors of Personal Protective Equipment with the protesters who needed it.

"There were Black Lives Matter protests popping up throughout the nation," said Tyler Chen, one of the site's founders and its outreach coordinator. "And when they post through social media, we would immediately follow through with asking 'Hey, do you guys need personal protective equipment supplies or donations for your protests?'"

"With a lot of the COVID stuff happening, there was not much that I could do. So this was a good opportunity for me to help in something that I really believed in," said Ryan He, a BLM Supply Crate site developer.

Jackie Ni, BLM Supply Crate's founder and director, adapted the idea from another project he created only months prior.

"Supply Create is basically a website that helps connect PPE donors and hospitals, hospices and senior living centers," said Ni. "Through helping get PPE to people in need through Supply Crate, I realized maybe I can transition that over to BLM Supply Crate."

"The BLM organizers are really thankful," Ni said. "They've been sending videos and pictures of people wearing these masks. And so I think what we're doing is really making a difference."

For more information or to donate to BLM Supply Crate, go to https://blm.supplycrate.org/