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Blake Lively with Ryan Reynolds. The duo donated a large sum of money to food banks in the United States and Canada. Photo / file
A top Hollywood celebrity has praised a New Zealand businessman for his “heroic” actions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
American actor Blake Lively, the star of the hit show Gossip Girl, called his Kiwi friend Nick Mowbray for help in May when diaper supplies in the United States were running low.
Lively today told her 27.8 million Instagram followers how Mowbray shipped more than 265,000 diapers to diaper banks and hospitals in New York and Texas.
“In May, I called my friend Nick Mowbray,” he said on Instagram.
“The United States suffered a severe blow, not only with Covid-19, but also with few basic needs. He works with my favorite Rascal and Friends diaper. Within days, he and his team shipped more than 265,000 diapers to diaper banks and hospitals. in NY and Texas. Free. “
But it didn’t stop there.
Mowbray, the co-founder of Zuru Toys, shipped more than 20,000 toys to children at the New York hospital, Lively said.
“I was put off reading about children living in hospitals unable to receive visits due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This was the peak lockdown point in New York. Nick Mowbray also started Zuru Toys so I asked them for anything they could send. “.
“In those same days, he and his team sent more than 20,000 Zuru toys to New York for those children, as well as children in the areas that were being hit the hardest in every way. Again. He did it on his own.” .
Mowbray and his team also shipped 20,000 masks and disinfectant to New York hospitals when it was impossible to get both, he said.
“These actions were heroic. This effort spanned three continents. And it required the work of countless people. From the people who make the supplies. To the people who package them. To the people who donate them. To the teams in NY that receive them. To the teams that distribute them To the heroic work of essential workers once they received these life-saving tools.
The actress said she was reflecting on the “silent act of caring and community.”
“I was incredibly grateful.”
The actress and her famous husband, Ryan Reynolds, donated $ 1 million ($ 1.45 million) to food banks in the United States and Canada in March.
In an Instagram post, Lively said she split the money between Feeding America and Food Banks Canada.