Washington, Apr 21 (IANS): Twelve Indian-American hoteliers ave collaborated to purchase and donate 25,000 protective face masks to 11 hospitals in the four states -- California, Texas, Oregon, Washington -- where their respective companies operate, it was reported.

The masks donation represents a joint effort by Neal Patel, founder and managing partner of Blue Chip Hotels which operates in Texas, and Bijal Patel, CEO and principal of Coast Redwood Hospitality in Northern California, India-West said in a news report on Tuesday.

"Hospitality is not just our job – it's a calling and a lifelong bond to serving people," said Bijal Patel.

Neal Patel said: "During this crisis environment, we want to make work a little safer and easier for the health care first-responders who are working so very hard on behalf of the communities where we do business."

Taran Patel, managing principal of A1 Hospitality Group based in Kennewick, Washington, explained his reason for joining the contribution group: "As our company thought about what our local communities needed, we quickly realized there was a dire need for protective medical equipment, masks in particular.

"We immediately put together an energized group of young hoteliers who could act fast to leverage our collective resources and to make an immediate, meaningful impact," the India-West news report quoted Taran Patel as saying.

Mitesh Jivan of TenSeventy Hospitality in California, said "it's been great to mobilize our resources in support of the health care workers who are supporting us every day".

Sawan Patel of Unity Hotels Group in Texas added: "Hoteliers understand the importance of doing little things behind-the-scenes for our guests, so providing these masks is a small way we can give medical workers a valuable tool as they fight for us on the front line."