Three shipments of medical equipment were sent, including protective suits, face shields, eye goggles, N95 masks, and surgical masks.
The alumni said that the initiative was taken out of appreciation to the school. "At this hard time, we Chinese alumni of Bar-Ilan discussed the situation and jointly decided that we strongly wish to give something in return and provide some support to Bar-Ilan University. It is our way to express our sincere concern, and more importantly, as appreciation, to give back the help we had received from the university when we needed it," the alumni wrote in a letter to University President Prof. Arie Zaban.
Once Zaban approved the project, more than 50 of the alumni donated more than NIS 36,000 in three days. Additionally, "Chinese people with a lot of goodwill and love for Israel organized medical equipment shipments to Israel worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, [and] the Israeli Consulate in Shanghai undertook the responsibility to organize several cargo flights for this purpose."
The university expressed appreciation for the unsolicited donation. "Unfortunately, the availability of equipment is insufficient and students do not always get top priority in receiving the protection they need to do their jobs," said Dr. Lilach Malatskey, of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine. "Because our faculty and students have not had enough protective equipment during this difficult time, we have been forced to send them home so as not to endanger them. This assistance will save lives and is critical to our continued efforts."