The donations vary in size and are happening across the country.
Lithia Motors, the third-largest public dealership group in the nation, donated 4,800 gloves and 40 protective eyewear products last month to Oregon hospital system Asante, near its headquarters in Medford, Ore.
Lithia's stores had the supplies in stock, but felt compelled to donate as much as they could while leaving enough available for their workers.
"During this time, it's our duty to do whatever we possibly can not only for our team members but for our communities," Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer said.
"We know our health care workers are struggling now to get the protective equipment they need to stay safe, so this is just a small contribution to help in that regard."
There was a similar effort on the East Coast, where John Wall, owner of Wall's Ford in Salisbury, Mass., donated dust masks from its service center to the local fire department.
"They're not medical-grade by any means," Wall said. "Whatever they could get at that point was better than what they had, which was nothing."
In Morristown, N.J., Beyer Family Automotive Group loaded a Ford Transit Connect with cases of 3M masks to drop off at the Morristown Medical Center. The company also has donated fruit for the hospital staff for a number of weeks.
"It's a no-brainer," Bridget Beyer, dealer principal, said in a video promoting the group's efforts.