- Michigan
Justin Verlander, Kate Upton helping equip Detroit’s front-line workers, Detroit Police Department to combat spread of COVID-19
Justin Verlander has zero saves in his Major League Baseball career, but he’s going to rack up some in the place where he was a dominant force for the first 13 years of his time in the big leagues.
Along with his wife, Michigan native Kate Upton, Verlander announced Friday several donations to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, many of them centered around helping the front-line folks in the Detroit Police Department.
“Hey everyone. Just like everybody else, we’ve been reading a lot about this pandemic, and are really heartbroken to hear what’s been happening in Detroit, particularly with their police department,” Verlander said in a video that accompanied a press release. “These men and women are out there, risking their lives on the front line for us, and a lot of them have fallen ill because they don’t have enough protective equipment, so we reached out to them, to see how we could help.”
Partnering with Bella+Canvas, they secured donation of 25,000 to the DPD for use by offers and for distribution around the communities they serve.
“I think one of the biggest things we can do to stop this virus is for as many people as possible to be masked. So the police officers are going to be distributing those masks to people in communities that can’t afford or don’t have access to get their own masks,” Verlander said in the video. “Hopefully that goes a long way in slowing the spread in Detroit.”
Partnering with the Ford Motor Company Fund, they secured donations of face shields for every police officer, paramedic and fire fighter in Detroit.
Partnering with B Strong, they secured the donation of touchless thermometers for use by police.
And they also donated to Feed the Frontlines Detroit, which works with local restaurants to deliver meals to healthcare workers and first responders.
