CROSS-BORDER CAMPAIGN
Gift cards for health-care workers
Hundreds of local health-care providers who have been working in Detroit during the COVID-19 pandemic are getting a few lunch breaks courtesy of the City of Windsor and the U.S. government.
U.S. Consul General Greg Stanford was in Windsor Tuesday with Mayor Drew Dilkens to hand out gift cards to Windsor health-care workers crossing the border.
“When we read reports of these health-care workers crossing the border every day to help our most vulnerable in Michigan, that came as no surprise to me,” Stanford told reporters at the Windsor side of the tunnel.
“But it touched me very personally and it also comforted me, because at this very moment and for the last three months, both my wife and my two kids have been in Detroit. So I’m comforted to know that there are such dedicated, skilled and compassionate people who are helping those most in need.”
Calling it the Take a Break on US campaign, Stanford and Dilkens handed out 900 gift cards Tuesday in conjunction with International Nurses Day. Each card was worth $15-$20. Volunteers from the Windsor-essex Economic Development Corp. and the City of Windsor helped give out the cards, which came from nine local restaurants.
Carolyn Brown, CEO of the Windsor-detroit Tunnel Corp., said 6,000 vehicles normally go through the tunnel in each direction every day. But for the last month, with border crossings limited to essential travellers such as health-care workers, she said the number has dropped to 700.
“For the past few weeks, our staff here have seen first-hand the daily contribution of these medical heroes,” said Brown.
Dilkens said about 1,600 local health-care workers typically cross the border into Detroit every day.
“I’m sure that every single one has made a difference in the lives of dozens if not hundreds of patients over the course of the past few weeks,” he said.
Dilkens, Stanford and the volunteers handed out gift cards Tuesday morning at the Ambassador Bridge before moving over to the tunnel in the afternoon.
“Medical staff on both sides of the border have told me that if these crossings had stopped, then entire hospitals in Detroit would have had to consider closing departments,” said Dilkens. “I think it’s important to recognize that the flow of medical staff goes both ways. Windsor is the beneficiary of staff at Windsor Regional who happen to live in Michigan.”
Stanford, who was born and raised in Michigan, said the Windsor-detroit region is “a microcosm of the all-important U.s.-canada relationship.”
“It certainly speaks to the interconnectedness of our countries,” he said. “But it’s also comprised of industrious, kind-hearted, mutually supportive folks who care deeply about their communities. That has been on display here for some time.”
He said “the selfless acts” of Canadian health-care givers working in Detroit “embody all that is right about the U.s.-canada relationship.”
“The U.S. and Canada are enduring allies bound by history, shared values and an unparalleled partnership,” said Stanford. “Now more than ever, the ties that bind us are important.”