Courtesy of the Youth Alliance:
As the pandemic continues to affect all of our communities, Youth Alliance is excited to announce its partnership with MedShare in an effort to distribute Disney masks throughout the underserved regions of San Benito and South Santa Clara counties. The cloth face coverings will be prioritized for distribution with children and families and in those areas of high need. Youth Alliance hopes that the Disney masks will be especially effective with children, because they might be more likely to wear them, if they like them.
MedShare is a nonprofit humanitarian aid organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people, communities and our planet by sourcing and directly delivering surplus medical supplies and equipment to communities in need around the world. MedShare has partnered with Youth Alliance in an effort to reach thousands of underserved children and families with cloth masks. Both organizations share a mutual belief in the importance of helping these young people during the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone should be able to continue their education while staying safe, healthy and helping stop the spread of COVID-19.
The two masks featured for distribution include fan favorites, Mickey and Minnie Mouse. These masks not only promote safe and healthy practices during the pandemic but also bring a little joy and cheer during these challenging times. Health and safety information will also be distributed and YA staff are planning activities that highlight how each person plays a role in keeping our community safe.
Youth Alliance is one of the organizations that will receive these animated masks and will be distributing throughout San Benito and South Santa Clara counties. Youth Alliance is planning the following distribution dates and locations with more distributions to be planned:
● Royal and Crest Apartments in Morgan Hill during food pantry.
● Hollister elementary school sites the week of 9/21 from 10-4pm (approximate time).
● Rustic Garden Monday 9/14 5:15-6:15pm
● Rancho Park Tuesday 9/15 5:15pm-6:15pm
● Gateway Palms Thursday 9/17 5:15-6:15pm
● Ochoa Migrant Camp
● Gilroy school sites
● St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy 9/28 8-2pm
● San Juan Bautista schools
Youth Alliance will be working collaboratively with local partners to provide masks for the farm worker population, immigrant/migrant, Latinx population and any other under-resourced demographics in our region. For more information or to support this effort, please call the YA office at 831.636.2853.
For Latinx and Black communities in particular, the Centers for Disease Control recently reported that “Hispanic and Black children in particular were much more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19, with Hispanic children about eight times as likely and Black children being five times more likely than white children to be hospitalized” (NPR, August 8, 2020). Diane Ortiz, Executive Director stated, “We have seen how this pandemic has impacted families and farm workers in our region. Youth Alliance is grateful for this life-saving donation and the opportunity to share protective face coverings that will help keep our children and communities safe. We also hope that getting a Disney mask will bring a smile to people’s faces during such a stressful time.”
Youth Alliance has also established its own emergency Solidarity Fund to provide financial resources for some families in urgent need. This fund will help youth and families we serve in San Benito County, Gilroy and Morgan Hill and will focus on those who might not be eligible for other resources.
YA would also like to remind everyone that there is still time to fill out your Census! Please go to 2020census.gov or call 1- 844-330-2020 (English) or 1-844-468-2020 (Spanish) to complete it before 9/30/2020! If you need assistance, please contact us at 831.636.2853.
