By Kathy Chouteau and Mike Kinney
It seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like his father before him, Damien Carter—son of legendary “Coach Carter” of Richmond High School basketball fame—is making waves with his good deeds for the Richmond community.
The younger Carter, who is a philanthropist and CEO of VET Logistics based in Tempe, AZ, has inked a $50 million deal to provide COVID-19 test kits to areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including his hometown of Richmond.
The deal brings together the organizations qMetrix, AnyPlaceMDBox and RHEA, Inc. to provide COVID-19 testing to those in pressing need of early detection. Initially, the partnership will launch with an initial supply of 500,000 PCR and Rapid Test kits (250,000 each) to Richmond. The partnership’s overall outreach will expand to provide its various recipients with more than one million kits per week within 30 days.
“I have always believed that if you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem…With the deal closed, I am going to take care of home first [Richmond] by being in the position of being able to help,” said Carter. “An opportunity presented itself to me and I expanded that opportunity and was able to push it further.”
According to Carter’s spokesperson, Brandon Harris, they estimate the test kits will be delivered to Richmond within a two and half to three-week window. Carter’s team is currently speaking with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, local charities and churches about coordinating the delivery.
“This pandemic has put a spotlight on people of color and those who lack the most important color in America, which is green,” said Carter.
“While some in communities that I most identify with are focused on tweets, viral videos or worse—others are dying and regardless of color, the financial volatility of this segment of the population means they are unfortunately the last to get top of the line medical care let alone early detection tools made available to them write essay for me.”
Learn more about VET Logistics here.
