Millions of Masks for Children Initiative Donates More Than One Million Masks to Kids in LA

Initiative Helps Battle Region’s ‘Worst Disaster in Decades’ due to COVID-19

American Red Cross, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Children’s Institute, Wellnest, and other nonprofits receive masks for children in need

LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2021 — The Millions of Masks for Children Initiative, a growing nationwide effort sponsored by SmartAID to help protect millions of children from COVID-19, today announced a donation of more than one million masks to impacted children in the Los Angeles area. These masks are being provided to the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, Office of Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, Wellnest, Children’s Institute, Children’s Action Network, Children Mending Hearts, Planet Hope and other nonprofits which together serve thousands of children in need in the Los Angeles area. FLTR, a leading supplier of a wide range of personal protective equipment (PPE), donated the masks which DHL is helping to deliver to children in vulnerable communities throughout Los Angeles.

SEE: Photos of the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative Event in Los Angeles (Flickr)

“SmartAID is honored to be supporting the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative across multiple states in the U.S. during the peak of the pandemic. In Los Angeles, we are supporting the hardest hit areas and want to make sure that the most vulnerable communities have immediate access to ample supplies of PPE to help slow the spread of the virus,” said Shachar Zahavi, Founder and CEO of SmartAID, and co-founder of the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative.

Los Angeles County has reported more than one million cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the first positive case was confirmed more than a year ago on January 26, 2020.

“With the surge we experienced over the last few months, we have seen our most vulnerable communities impacted by high morbidity rates and cases,” said Norma Vega, Chief Strategy Officer & External Relations Officer of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region. “Our COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative focused our preparedness education and PPE distribution efforts in these communities to mitigate the impact. We’re extremely grateful to the Millions of Masks for Children team for quickly taking action to meet the incredible need for PPE for children throughout our communities.”

As a part of this donation, the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative is supplying 200,000 children’s masks and 40,000 travel size bottles of hand sanitizer to the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti and the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region to be included in 20,000 emergency kits being delivered to vulnerable communities throughout the Los Angeles area.

“We’re thankful to have the American Red Cross, FLTR, DHL, and SmartAID as partners in our effort to help children throughout the Los Angeles area that has been devastated by COVID-19. The Red Cross team has done an amazing job of helping us quickly get our donations to the communities that need it most in the LA region,” said Trang Le, co-founder of the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative and SmartAID volunteer. “FLTR has generously donated more than one million masks to children in Los Angeles on top of the more than two million masks they’ve donated to children in Washington and Utah. DHL has donated vital delivery and logistics services. It takes a team of great organizations and dedicated individuals working together to make our vision of helping millions of kids across America a reality during this pandemic.”

In addition to the more than one million masks that FLTR has donated to nonprofits in Los Angeles, the company has also donated more than 650,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and shipping expenses to Los Angeles where the hand sanitizer is being delivered by the American Red Cross to organizations helping children, seniors and the homeless in the area.

“We’re proud to be a part of the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative and pleased to see our FLTR masks and hand sanitizer getting to vulnerable communities that have the greatest need during COVID-19,” said Jason Lemelson, CEO of FLTR. “Our goal is to protect millions of children across the U.S. and help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

According to Greg Hewitt, CEO, DHL Express U.S., “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been committed to bringing much-needed supplies to protect and support our most vulnerable populations and frontline employees. Now more than ever, it essential to ensure these critical materials are delivered and distributed in order to help fight the ongoing health crisis.”

For more information and to donate to the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative, visit kidmasks.org.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/la or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA or @CruzRojaLA.

About the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative

The Millions of Masks for Children Initiative, sponsored by SmartAID, is committed to providing face masks to children to protect them from COVID-19. Started in Washington State in December 2020, the Millions of Masks for Children Initiative has donated and delivered more than three million masks and more than one million bottles of hand sanitizer to children in Washington, Utah, California, and Alaska. The Millions of Masks for Children Initiative is working to help even more children across the U.S. in an effort to provide much-needed PPE to the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.