UofL School of Medicine joins campaign to ensure kids have access to clean, unused masks

UofL’s School of Medicine has joined a handful of other organizations, including local activist Christopher 2X’s nonprofit Game Changers, to launch a new campaign called “Masks for Kids.”

The objective is to ensure all children have access to a face mask to help protect them from COVID-19, and to also raise awareness about the importance of wearing a mask.

“Too many times I’ve walked around and it saddens my heart to watch kids with dirty masks, with no masks at times,” 2X told WLKY.

Joining UofL and Game Changers for the campaign are Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools and the YMCA of Greater Louisville. All 10 YMCA locations have drop-off sites for people to bring clean and unused masks.

YMCA CEO Steve Tarver said the effort is important to help students avoid missing out on social, emotional and academic pursuits during the global pandemic.

“And to think that the lack of a mask could be a barrier for a child to stay safe or get back to school at the appropriate time, that’s unthinkable, and it’s unacceptable,” he told the Courier Journal. “So together, we can eliminate this barrier.”

JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio added that the Masks for Kids effort is essential to ensure access to masks and, eventually, a return to normalcy.

“The more people wear masks, the quicker we get back into school (and) the quicker we get back to what we call a normal life,” he told the CJ.

Doctors and medical students from UofL donated the first 5,000 masks to JCPS to kick off the campaign, the Courier Journal reports. However, less than 24 hours after the initiative was launched, 2X announced a doctor donated 132,000 youth-sized disposable masks for JCPS students. The donor is expected to be revealed during a press conference on Monday.

Check out this video from the campaign: