The Boys & Girls Club of Dane County donated 250,000 face masks and more than 75,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Madison Metropolitan School District on Wednesday.
“Today marks the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County’s largest distribution of facemasks,” said Faith Ross, resource development manager at Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County, at a press conference announcing the donation. “To my knowledge, there has been no other organization in the state of Wisconsin that has put more masks into the hands of children and families who need them. It is important that we are protecting our boys and girls at such a critical time.
“These shipments will be shipped to 55 individual schools and sites including MSCR and after-school programs,” she added. “It is truly a grassroots effort.”
MMSD received 250,000 of the over one million face masks that the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County have given away. The masks and hand sanitizer were initially donated to the Boys & Girls club by Ford Motor Company and UPS in December 2020.
“This is an amazing opportunity for MMSD and we want to express our sincere gratitude to the Ford Motor Company, UPS, and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County for this incredible donation,” said MMSD School Board President Gloria Reyes. “This meaningful generosity personifies what it means to be a good business community member. This effort is something that will have a real impact on supporting the safety and health of our students, staff and families.
“This is another great example of our community working together in partnership,’ she added.
Corey Marionneaux, the founder of the Black Men Coalition Of Dane County, said he was excited about the partnership that pulled the whole thing together.
“This is a beautiful thing when our community can come together to make something like this happen, especially for the minority community who needs these masks,” Marionneaux said. “It’s a blessing to be a part of this. Let’s keep this kind of community work going. The Black Men Coalition will always want to help.”