WNYPC #IRJ2Learn Fundraiser Benefitting Journey’s End Immigrant & Refugee Students
The Immigrant & Refugee Justice (IRJ/”urge”) Task Force of the WNY Peace Center aims to raise $2,500 to provide high-quality masks (e.g., N95s, KN95s, and/or KF94s) and Corsi-Rosenthal filtration boxes to Journey’s End Refugee Services (JERS) so that its students can learn safely and confidently in person.
Or donate any amount you can, here!
BACKGROUND
JERS provides a variety of educational programming to its 150+ adult students, including:
- three levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): Beginner, Intermediate, & Advanced
- High School Equivalency / GED preparation
- Citizenship / Naturalization preparation
Due to the recent spike in COVID case rates in WNY, JERS classes are currently offered remotely to students, which can present issues related to technology access. Although many of the local support programs offer resources for childhood education, the same cannot be said for adult education. WNYPC-IRJ’s hope is to bridge that gap for JERS Education clients: adult immigrant and refugee community members within WNY. (Learn more about how the pandemic has been a major barrier to English language learners across the USA.)
As JERS prepares for its students to return to the classrooms, we all want to ensure that students have full access to available resources in order to learn safely.
WHY IRJ2Mask?
Face masks or respirators (N95/KN95s) effectively filter virus-sized particles in laboratory settings. A recent, real-world study demonstrates that consistent use of a face mask or respirator in indoor public settings was associated with lower odds of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Use of respirators with higher filtration capacity was associated with the most protection, compared with no mask use.
OBJECTIVE
To provide 1 high-quality mask (from reputable suppliers such as Project N95, Armbrust USA, Bonafide Masks, and Be Healthy USA) to each JERS student for the next ten weeks of in-person classes (tentatively March through mid-May) and 1 Corsi-Rosenthal box per classroom.
On average, one high-quality mask currently costs $1.28 and the materials for one Corsi-Rosenthal box total $100. WNYPC-IRJ would like to provide ~2,000 masks and 5 CR boxes to JERS’ Education department. (If you would like to see the price break-down of each item, please email irj@wnypeace.org for those details.)
THANK YOU!
Or donate any amount you can, here!
