The Chicago Bulls teamed up with BMO Harris Bank to upcycle surplus Bulls apparel into 10,000 face coverings to be donated to community partners. The face coverings, recommended by health professionals to help slow the spread of COVID-19, will be donated to five local nonprofits to distribute to their staff and Chicagoland families in need, including My Block My Hood My City, Breakthrough Family Urban Ministries, Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, After School Matters and Healthy Hood Chicago.
“Over the course of our longstanding partnership, the Bulls and BMO have worked together to find creative and meaningful ways to support the Chicagoland community,” said Adrienne Scherenzel-Curry, Chicago Bulls Senior Director, Community Relations. “We appreciate their support in helping to turn surplus Bulls gear into something that can help our community partners, their staff and families in need across the city.”
“The work nonprofits are doing in our community is always critical but especially so during the pandemic,” said Leslie J. Anderson, BMO Harris Bank’s senior vice president and global head of enterprise technology and employee experience and After School Matters board member. “We are proud to partner with the Bulls to equip the community with important health protection and live our purpose to Boldly Grow the Good.”
BMO will also donate 10,000 limited-edition hats designed by Sentrock, a local artist the team partnered with as part of the BMO Harris Bank Chicago Artist Hat Series, a signature initiative in its third year. As a sign of city pride, the donated hats, designed exclusively for a postponed in-arena giveaway, will also be gifted to each face covering recipient. To further support Sentrock and his work, the Bulls and BMO will donate face coverings and hats to Pilsen-based nonprofit, Healthy Hood Chicago on his behalf.
The Bulls teamed up with Refried Apparel, a company known for upcycling unsold or unused clothing into new products, to turn surplus Bulls t-shirts into face coverings. This initiative is part of the Bulls COVID-19 relief efforts. Learn more about the Bulls COVID-19 relief efforts here.
The donation also builds on BMO’s efforts to support customers, communities and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank recently made a donation to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund and also donated N95 masks to hospitals and first responders in the Chicago area.
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