East Orange marketing firm steps in to help out the community

EAST ORANGE, NJ — The coronavirus has affected people and businesses everywhere. One impact has been the scarcity of personal protection equipment, known as PPE, which has left some people unprotected and thus more vulnerable to the virus. Thanks to the generosity of some businesses, PPE donations have allowed more people to be protected from the coronavirus, which still looms over the nation. 

Joining the supply chain and helping to supply PPE to those in need, Impact Consulting Enterprises, an award-winning minority- and woman-owned strategic communication, marketing and public relations firm in East Orange, chose to pivot its day-to-day duties from marketing, website design and development to aiding those who are in need.

Impact CEO and founder Cheryl McCants activated her supply chain and decided to use her company to help the community.

“When I learned of the many challenges that procurement officers faced in identifying legitimate suppliers for masks, gloves and other types of PPE, we instinctively jumped in to help,” McCants said on June 26. “I was inspired to pivot Impact Consulting Enterprises and join the PPE supply chain when I heard about the challenges faced by essential organizations trying to obtain PPE. Hospitals, schools and nonprofits all needed PPE but were unable to find reliable suppliers. I had connections to diverse, minority PPE suppliers and immediately took the opportunity to join the supply chain and help. There are a shocking number of fraudulent PPE sellers online that try to scam our brave health care and essential workers. Impact served as the connection points, helping our essential industries buy PPE from suppliers they could trust.”

Acquiring the necessities and other PPE for hospitals, schools, utility companies and other organizations in need, Team Impact successfully helped others.

“We have supplied the following products with extremely minimal markup to places, including 50,000 masks to Newark, New Jersey’s University Hospital; 12,000 masks to Princeton, New Jersey’s Eden School for Autistic Children; 10,000 gloves to Massachusetts’ Veterans Administration Hospital; nearly 300,000 sanitizing wipes to utility companies; and hundreds of masks to various New Jersey–based cleaning companies.”

McCants and Team Impact had one goal in mind.

“Hospitals, schools, nonprofits and essential businesses made enormous sacrifices during the pandemic,” McCants said. “Our front-line workers put their lives at risk to help others. My goal was to give back to them. Impact did not supply PPE to earn profit or even make news. This shift in business simply made sense to me as the right thing to do. We have four core values, which are do the right thing, lead with creative ideas, give back and put clients first. Supplying PPE supports all of our core values. It’s a no-brainer.”

The national and international suppliers that were used by Impact were reliable and efficient in their efforts.

“Our efforts were possible thanks to the fellow small, women and/or minority suppliers,” McCants said. “We are proud that our PPE work not only helped essential businesses but also bolstered the involvement of other minority enterprises in the supply chain. Aside from the suppliers that we vetted and identified, this was an Impact-led initiative.”

According to a media release, Impact certainly did not make this pivot for profit, as its PPE engagement yielded significantly lower earnings than the company’s standard communications work.

But taking stride in witnessing a minor setback through lower earnings, McCants reflected on how she was able to give back during the onslaught of COVID-19.

“I am proud that our team made a tangible impact,” McCants said. “While many people were thanking essential workers, we decided to express our gratitude with action. I saw an opportunity to help and did not hesitate to put our business on pause. We all have a responsibility to do our part for those in need. Helping others is at the very core of Impact, so this pivot is simply an extension of our values.”

  COVID-19, FEATURED