On Tuesday First Lady Britainy Beshear announced that she and Lt. Governor Jaqueline Coleman were kicking off the ‘Coverings for Kids’ initiative to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and reopen schools safely. At Tuesday’s Coronavirus press briefing, The First Lady said that as a parent, the rising number of positive cases among children was “frightening” and wants to ensure safety precautions are in place at schools across the state. “I ask for your help as we seek to support Kentucky students, educators and staff.”
The goal is to collect homemade or purchased masks so that students, teachers and staff will have them available at no cost to the school districts. “We have asked a lot of our schools, educators and students in the last few months. Through 'Coverings for Kids' we have an amazing opportunity to come together once again as Team Kentucky and help the children and the educators of our Commonwealth stay safe when they return to their classrooms.” Even though it’s unclear when all students will return to in-person learning, First Lady Beshear said “We must be proactive vs reactive which is why we are coming to you now to ask for your help.”
School districts will set up donation centers and distribute all the masks and face coverings collected. First Lady Beshear said they will need both child and adult sized masks. Each district will be given a donation tracking form and an outreach packet to help them promote the program. If you are able to sew, patterns are available at https://governor.ky.gov/coveringsforkids . You can drop off donations beginning Tuesday, August 11th at district-level donation centers. Those locations will be announced soon.