Submitted by Sarina from the U of C Lab Schools in Chicago, Illinois.
Hello, my name is Sarina and I’m a 9th-grade student at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. During this strange and unprecedented time, I think this blog is a great way for communities to come together.
For me personally, the biggest struggle is finding a way to use my time wisely. On one hand, I find myself wondering what I should do with all my unstructured time. I have so much freedom on my hands, yet at the end of the day, a great portion of it is yielded to Netflix and Youtube. Other times, I find myself with an overload of homework, and not enough time to pace out my school work throughout the day. It has certainly been an interesting few weeks.
One of the things I have done during my spare time, is I have started working with a friend, Allison, to try to help people in our community. Allison and I, along with our families, have been working together to buy masks from China to donate to nursing/retirement homes. We have already contacted several, and plan on sending masks out within the next few days.
Especially during this distressful time, we have been wondering how seniors in nursing homes have been implementing social distancing. Senior citizens have higher risks of catching the virus, yet social isolation is not completely possible in nursing homes. We hope that through the donation of masks, we can help reduce the potential risk of the spread of COVID-19, thus "flattening the curve."
To support this cause, we have created a Go Fund Me. Hopefully, this will help cover the costs of masks and shipping.
Here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/masks-for-southside-nursing-homes
Please join us in our strive to help the elderly community. I sincerely hope you consider contributing to this fund, as it would help many seniors and caretakers who continue to reside and work during this difficult time. Any amount will be appreciated.
I have found that by working on this project, I have been able to give back to my community, while also using my time wisely.
Stay safe and healthy :)
Sarina :)
Note: ***Sarina is a Make-A-Mask ambassador for Covid TV. To become an ambassador for your school for any of our four projects, apply here!