A caravan of Troop 11 Boy Scouts and Assistant Scoutmasters eagerly delivered PPE to Chinese Hospital and HealthRIGHT 360, donating a total of 500 face shields and 300 face masks to these two public health organizations. Troop 11 scouts, from Piedmont and Oakland, guided by their commitment to community service, have been busy assembling face shields for donation.
The scouts are part of the 225-member community organization, It Takes A Village Bay Area which has been providing valuable PPE to Bay Area communities in need since mid-March. With this delivery, It Takes A Village Bay Area has surpassed a momentous donation milestone of 25,000 face masks and 7,200 face shields, consisting of 18,685 fabric face masks and 6,400 KN95.
Julia Chin, a Co-Chair of It Takes A Village Bay Area, who helped with the Troop’s efforts in making the shields, responded emotionally to her first donation visit, “We are honored to be here with the people who will use this equipment. It fills my heart with joy.”
When asked why he got involved in this effort, Troop 11 scout Jack Chin responded, “When Shelter-in-Place started I had a lot of free time so I wanted to do something meaningful to help the health care workers who are risking their lives to protect us. The Scout Law says that we should be helpful and kind.”
The group received a donated roll of Coca Cola PETG that is being laser cut at mOxy, an Oakland artist community, at reduced laser cutting rates. A multitude of moving companies donated cartons to pack the shields.
It Takes A Village Bay Area has partnered with Bryan and Michelle Walker, co-founders of Bryn Walker, a women’s clothing company located in Berkeley, California, who donated the majority of the fabric for the face masks. It Takes A Village has set up a GoFundMe to help offset costs associated with the mask and face shield production. Donations are tax deductible through the fiscal agent TMC Community Capital, an Oakland based micro-loan provider.
To donate, go to GOFUNDME page:
www.gofundme.com/f/making-and-donating-face-masks-and-face-shields.
To date, donations include the following local hospitals and hospital systems: Alameda Health Systems (requested 8,000 face masks), Zuckerberg San Francisco General (requested 10,000 face masks), Santa Clara Valley County Medical, Palo Alto VA, Martinez VA, Laguna Honda, Chinese Hospital-SF, Sutter Health San Francisco, Mission Neighborhood Health Center, San Francisco, UCSF San Francisco., and HealthRIGHT 360.
It Takes A Village is a volunteer group of 225 people using their time while sheltering-in-place to make masks and face shields for healthcare workers. The group also repackages and distributes donated hand sanitizer, and PPE to hospitals in need.
www.it-takes-a-village.org
Photo credit: Clara Rice, Photographer