Hingham Native Launches “New York Tough” to Raise Funds for PPE for Healthcare Workers

April 18, 2020

Five years ago, Hingham native Maggie Weston, a Hingham native, was working at Wahlburgers in the Hingham Shipyard and met George “Gidge” Russo, of Scituate. They started dating and as the saying goes, the rest was history. After several moves, the couple settled in New York City where Maggie could pursue her dreams of becoming a professional actress and Gidge could complete medical school and begin his residency in Emergency Medicine. Maggie was cast in a starring role in “The Play That Goes Wrong” until the lights went out on Broadway due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Gidge graduated medical school, and is currently an ER Resident Physician, working at multiple hospitals in Manhattan, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.

According to the pair, Maggie and Gidge are a couple who "live, work and love New York City."

The Beginning of New York Tough

When COVID-19 entered the city, that's when the trouble began in the ER for Gidge. They didn’t see it coming at first. One day the hospital ran out of gowns. The next, he and his colleagues were told to reuse their N95 masks for up to five days. Stories of other NYC hospitals having to use trash bags as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) due to lack of preparation and resources began to leak. The pair quickly realized they would have to do something drastic when their daily runs to Home Depot started leaving them empty handed. They realized that many, if not most, doctors and nurses in New York were paying out of their own pocket for life saving gear. Thus, the idea for a fundraising campaign was born – “New York Tough.” (Follow along on Instagram)

The idea was simple...by selling merchandise that was branded with the “New York Tough” logo, they could donate 100% of proceeds to ease the burden of buying PPE for the healthcare heroes on the frontlines.

The logo

The logo for “New York Tough” was designed by talented New Yorker, Lillian Sun who donated her talents at no cost. Maggie and Gidge have started to refer to it as "City Beat" since Lillian used a combination of heartbeat monitor and the New York skyline as inspiration.

Goals for New York Tough

The first goal of “New York Tough” is to supply PPE for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff.

When asked, Maggie and Gidge told the Anchor, "the support from the community has been amazing. People are being so generous with food, sending masks and other perks. However, the thing about PPE is a lot of this stuff has to be single use because the virus can be aerosolized and remain on surfaces for a very long time. So, things like masks, gowns, and shoe covers run out after even the most generous donations. When this happens, many healthcare professionals are forced to buy their own equipment, if their hospitals can’t keep up with demand."

The second financial goal for “New York Tough” is to invest in lifesaving technology for hospitals such as hand-held ultrasounds.

Hand-held ultrasounds and wireless stethoscopes mean less physical contact with infected patients while also ensuring the same (if not higher) level of care with less equipment/surface area needing to be sterilized in an already busy environment.

Maggie told the Anchor, "we want to buy this technology and put it in the hands of healthcare providers to make diagnosing, and treating Covid-19 more efficient, and safer, both for them, and their patients."

When asked why this cause was so important to them, Maggie shared, "Here's the deal: New York is hurting. You know that. You knew it when you saw the lights go out on Broadway, when the USNS Comfort came steadily up the Hudson, and when you hugged your favorite essential worker before they left for their 12-hour shift. We aren’t a multi-million-dollar company with profit on our minds—we are two kids working out of our apartment (in between volunteering and 12-hour shifts at the hospital) hoping to do some good."

To purchase “New York Tough” gear, visit https://teespring.com/stores/new-york-tough.

Follow New York Tough on instagram at @new_york_tough