It is called the “epicenter of the epicenter” of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City: Queens and the Bronx. Almost a third of the city’s COVID-19 cases are in Queens, which has been called the most diverse place in the world. Many of the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented, working-class, and working-poor. In Elmhurst, Queens, more than two-thirds of residents were born outside of the United States. The majority are black and Latinx. There are more cases per capita than anywhere in the world. In the Bronx, residents are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than anywhere else.

100% of the proceeds will go to the Bronx, Queens, and incarcerated communities in New York and Chicago. The funds will be to cover (by priority). 1) mask supplies 2) cost of shipping boxes 3) any amount we raise beyond mask and shipping costs will go to grocery store gift cards to those who are either left out of the stimulus check, or unemployed.

We have already received around 200 masks from our local incredible sewing volunteers. Pastor Michael Carrion of Promiseland Covenant Church on the ground in the Bronx, New York, shared that “We are hurting and losing someone every day.” There is a disproportionate number of black and brown people who are dying in the Bronx, Queens, and everywhere in America.

If you have a sewing machine and some time, we invite you to join these incredible sewing heroes in this life-saving effort.

Here is an instructional video for the masks: https://youtu.be/9K4dH3-LHLQ

It starts at home. We can inch by inch, stitch by stitch, grocery bag by grocery bag, love our vulnerable neighbors well.

Contact Beatrix, Director of PDX Mask Covid-19 Relief at beatrix@westhillscovenant.org for more information.