East Cobb AYLUS, a student-led organization, recently donated 4,900 combined surgical and KN-95 masks to the Kennestone Wellstar Hospital. AYLUS, which stands for Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States is a student-run volunteer organization that aims to help communities all around the country. The East Cobb Branch was founded in 2017 and has grown considerably since then.
Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the East Cobb AYLUS has stopped most of their normal volunteer activities (such as senior center performances, library tutoring, and other humanitarian aid) but has adapted others to help during the disease. For example, as schools around the state have closed and interpersonal contact is avoided, they’ve adapted their tutoring program to feature free, one-on-one online tutoring sessions.
As for humanitarian aid, the East Cobb AYLUS branch has donated almost 5,000 masks to the nearby Kennestone Hospital, one of the first hospitals that the Coronavirus impacted. The Kennestone hospital was chosen as it is in dire need of masks and other PPE due to the recent influx of new patients. The surgical masks were sourced from the RUC Investors’ “In Love We Connect” program, while the KN-95 masks were bought from a Chinese retailer. The masks were directly delivered to the facility by AYLUS members over the course of a week. The funding for the masks came from an internal fundraiser, which raised over $2300 for the sake of COVID-19 relief. In total, 4,400 surgical masks and 500 KN-95 masks were donated to the hospital. East Cobb AYLUS has also donated 50 handmade mask cases, which were made for the Sewing Masks For Atlanta Hospitals Facebook campaign. According to Michael Fu, President of the East Cobb Branch, says that “We’ll do our best in helping our community get through these times of crisis.”
East Cobb AYLUS is trying to connect to the elderly as well. They’ve purchased 3D printers, which will be used to print face shields. The shields will be donated to senior centers and hospitals in the area. They’ve also made custom Easter cards, videos, and PPT for them.
The report was posted at Marietta Daily Journal on May 7, 2020.
Attendance: Michael D Fu (2 hours)
Reported by Michael D Fu
