BELLA+CANVAS And Serena Williams Team Up with National School Boards Association
The Masks For Kids Program makes masks accessible to all schools
BELLA+CANVAS, a manufacturer of wholesale clothing and face masks, launches an initiative to support more than 54 million kids getting back into classrooms, partnering with the National School Boards Association (NBSA) and Scholastic to provide CDC-approved educational resources.
Philanthropist and professional tennis player Serena Williams has also joined the cause to promote awareness and education around the program and the resources it provides.
Through the initiative, BELLA+CANVAS will provide free and discounted access to face masks, distributing masks to 115,000 schools nationwide. It has also partnered with Scholastic to create age-appropriate educational resources around mask-wearing, washing hands, social distancing, and protocols for educators and administrators related to COVID-19.
BELLA+CANVAS and Serena Williams pledge to donate a minimum of 4.25 million masks, the number of students living below the poverty line. The National School Boards Association will help the pair distribute them to schools most in need.
“Public school children living at or below the poverty level face many challenges that the pandemic has only exacerbated,” says Anna Maria Chávez, NSBA’s executive director and chief executive officer. “We greatly appreciate BELLA+CANVAS and Serena Williams’ support and investment in their safety and continued education.”
Co-owner and Co-CEO of BELLA+CANVAS, Marco DeGeorge, says, “While we are committed to donating at least 4.25 million masks, our goal is to increase that amount exponentially through the support of other organizations that want to help. We are honored to partner with Serena on the #MasksForKids program. Serena shares BELLA+CANVAS’s passion of supporting underserved communities, and together we will bring education and support to 13,000-plus school districts through the #MasksForKids program.”
“I’m grateful to be able to help educate our schools about this resource, and to be given the opportunity to serve so many students,” adds Serena Williams.
Any school with enrollment below the poverty line is eligible to receive a donation of masks. BELLA+CANVAS also offers all schools access to masks at a 50% discount.
For more information, visit http://masksforkids.com.
