https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/15-year-old-collects-12000-protective-masks-for-hospital-staff/ar-BB13rNYP?OCID=ansmsnnews11Valerie Xu, 15, of Texas, with boxes full of masks for the staff at UT Southwestern Medical Center. (© Vivian Liu)
Texas girl, 15, collects 12,000 protective masks for hospital staff
Valerie Xu raised money through
GoFundMe after learning about the need for masks across the US.
"There's been a growing need of PPE in local hospitals. ...
Our family friend from Florida who was an ER doctor had to reuse the same mask for multiple weeks. ... This is like the first time in my lifetime that I've seen such a large crisis happen especially in a first-world country like the U.S. and it just showed me how much in need doctors and nurses are of PPE," she said.
Xu said that in March she began raising money for masks on a crowdfunding site. Thanks to social media, the campaign was shared across the state and many donated. She raised nearly $3,000 and a local company matched it.
She was able to collect thousands of masks and she delivered them to UT Southwestern Medical Center on April 24. She said the effort had raised her awareness about the different essential workers in her community.
7-year-old donates more than 6,000 masks, gloves and caps from hotels to hospital workers
"It's not just doctors and nurses who are helping ... it's everyone," such as first responders and grocery store workers, she said. "It just taught me the importance of these people. ... They're sacrificing their health."