COVID-19 hasn’t changed EVERYTHING
So much has changed in the last few weeks and our collective heads are spinning. Young & Healthy, like so much of the world, is working remotely and trying to find new and creative ways to serve the community.
But so much of what makes us “Young & Healthy” hasn’t actually changed at all. We are still moved by the plight of a single child and their family situation and we are still in the company of incredibly generous providers and community members. For example, when a child recently had a toothache and every dental office was closed, one of our empathetic volunteer dentists opened her office to care for the little boy.
With schools closed, we know that families will have trouble accessing care, so we created an outreach effort to get the word out that Young & Healthy is still available to help. To communicate this to families, we collected more than 3000 donated toothbrushes and paste to create oral health outreach kits with information on how to reach Young & Healthy. These kits were distributed through the PUSD free lunch program.
During this COVID crises, children and teens in our community are finding school work and on-line therapy nearly impossible because they lack a set of headphones for privacy and/or to be able to focus. When Young & Healthy learned about this digital divide, we launched a headphone donation campaign.
Some of the most impacted families in our community need diapers and formula for their babies, so we are now collecting those items.
There is continued need for masks and gloves for both the PUSD food workers on the front lines and the hospital. More than 5000 personal protective items have been donated to Young & Healthy and we have redistributed them.
Indeed, this pandemic is awful and yet, we are witnesses to so much kindness and generosity. Young & Healthy has always been proud to be a “barrier remover” so that children have a better shot at a healthier life. Some of the barriers have changed, but we are still here to knock them down.
Be well, stay well.
