Himalaya Capital Founder and Columbia University Trustee Li Lu Donates $1.5 Million to Aid Healthcare Workers

Himalaya Capital chairman and Columbia University Trustee Li Lu ’96 donated $1.5 million to the Guardians of the Angeles Charitable Foundation to aid healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally established as a coalition of donors and volunteers to help provide medical supplies and financial support to healthcare workers in China, the GoA Foundation has since shifted its focus to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

“We founded GoA to help those angels on the frontline of this fight: doctors, scientists, nurses, first responders,” Li says.

As of April 8, GoA Foundation has raised more than $4.4 million from Chinese, Chinese-American and American philanthropists and philanthropic organizations.

The foundation has purchased more than 1.2 million masks, hundreds of thousands of face shields, protective gowns and other personal protective equipment for US healthcare workers.

The initial 550,000 masks are being delivered to hospitals in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle.

“We do what we are uniquely positioned to do best,” Li says. “When Wuhan got hit, we sourced medical supplies from all of over the world to send to China. Now, we buy everything and anything we can from China and send it to people on the frontline here in America.”