RICHMOND, Va. -- The University of Richmond is donating thousands of safety gloves to local healthcare providers in need of supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The idea was spearheaded by chemistry professor Mike Leopold, who recognized that local healthcare workers were in need of additional personal protective equipment as the coronavirus continues to spread.

Leopold initially took the supply from his own research lab to an ER nurse he knows because she had indicated they were running low.

That’s when he realized the university had an opportunity to make a bigger impact.

“I realized that in the transition to remote learning, we would have a number of boxes of gloves sitting around in our labs for months,” Leopold said in a press release. “I thought why not make great use of them now and help keep those on the front lines fighting this pandemic safe.”

Leopold and his colleagues at the biology and chemistry departments, in collaboration with administrators, gathered nearly 7,000 pairs of gloves to donate to the Central Virginia Incident Management Team.

They will deliver the gloves to healthcare providers across the state most in need of supplies.

The gesture has prompted healthcare workers to talk with other universities about possibly donating gloves from their science laboratories.

“As I expected, the response from my colleagues was amazing and we are delighted to help assist in this small way. We hope it encourages others,” Leopold added.