Several local organizations and individuals have made generous financial and product donations designed to keep students and their families safe as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. 1,000 COVID Care Kits are being packed at Douglas County School System’s Central Office and will be delivered to every District school. The bags include a variety of items including water and reusable water bottles, hand sanitizer, facial tissues, wet wipes, masks, and hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and deodorant.
Each school will receive 25 bags that will be given to students who have limited access to COVID care and prevention items. Each school will also receive supplies for their quarantine rooms which include masks, hand sanitizer, and water and snacks for students as they wait for pick-up by a parent or guardian if they are sick or deemed exposed to the virus through contact tracing.
The COVID Care Kits project is spearheaded by Communities in Schools (CIS) of Douglas County and Partners in Education (PIE). CIS works to prevent students from dropping out of school and sponsors after school programs and the MATCH Mentoring Program. PIE provides opportunities for local businesses and organizations to share their expertise, time, resources and ideas to enrich the academic experience for students in the community.
“Communities In Schools of Douglas County is excited about this generous grant opportunity to support our children and youth,” said Mitzi Teal, executive director of CIS. “The COVID Care Kits will help support our students as they adjust to this difficult time in our community and society. We are grateful to Medline for this opportunity and to the amazing partners who donated supplies to help us surpass our goal!”
“Though we’ve been weathering the Coronavirus pandemic for nearly a year now, it continues to take a toll on our local students and families,” added Lyndsey Sargent, chair of the PIE board. “It is our hope that having these bags available at the schools for those in need will help ease the burden of access to products to keep them safe and healthy until we can get things back to normal. We appreciate the support from all of our donors – big and small – in helping out with this project.”
The COVID Care Kits project began with a $10,000 grant from Medline Industries, the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies in the US. Additional financial and product donations have come from GreyStone Power Corporation, CVS Pharmacy, Go Energy Financial Credit Union, First Presbyterian Church, The Writing Pad, Wenck Travel, and Rita Wilson.