Triangle business donates, raises money for COVID-19 crisis in India

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- In India, there are hundreds of thousands of new infections every day, and thousands of people are dying.

"When something like this happens, I think to myself, we cannot be standing on the sidelines. We have to step in and do something," said Rakesh Agarwal of Rug & Home.

In the 80s, Agarwal moved to the United States with his family and two suitcases. The generosity of others helped get them where they are today, so they knew they had to pay it forward.

"Anywhere there is a disaster, we step up. And this is one of the biggest disasters of our lifetimes," Agarwal said.

Agarwal and his family have donated $250,000 already to provide oxygen concentrators for hospitals in India. Now they're hoping to raise $750,000 more for a total of $1 million.

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"We are thinking we'd be able to get about 1,000 concentrators. And 1,000 concentrators mean saving tens of thousands of lives," he said.

Hoping to give someone a second chance and Agarwal is confident the community will step up and help.

"Just preventing them - someone who thinks he's about to die - if you can give them that oxygen concentrator, this could be the difference between life and death," Agarwal said.

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