Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara
Source: United Boys & Girls Clubs
The Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta donated a little over 1,100 child/youth masks and 175 adult masks to the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County.
United Boys & Girls Clubs (UBGC) has opened all their club locations, school-based locations in Solvang and Buellton, and their ASES sites in Lompoc for two programs, which has sites open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“When it was reported that schools would reopen, we immediately started making children’s and youth masks. However, most public schools were not able to reopen to full capacity at the beginning of the school year. We therefore reached out to UBGC because UBGC serves a large area of our community, and with masks made by sewists throughout the area, it seemed like a good fit to be able to provide masks to children across the entire Santa Barbara/Goleta area,” stated Karen Pickford, President of the Coastal Quilters Guild of Santa Barbara and Goleta.
Members are required to wear masks the entire day. As a member arrives, the guardian is asked a CDC health questionnaire about their members. The temperature of the member is taken and recorded. If the member passes the questionnaire and temperature check, they then are required to wash their hands before heading into the club. Each member is required to have their temperature retaken at the end of programming before being picked up. Each club site will serve anywhere from 50 to 100 members based on the new COVID19 standards and practicing social distancing.
“Our members were filled with joy when we received the donation of masks from the Coastal Quilters Guild. They wore their masks proudly while participating in our afterschool program activities”, shared Jose Marquez, Club Director of the Goleta Unit. Goleta was the first location to receive their masks from the Coastal Quilters Guild. “This donation is a huge relief for all of us at the club because we will now have extra masks that we can all enjoy wearing.,” added Marquez.
“Making masks is a great source of calm for me and provides a feeling of control, even if it’s only over one small part of the universe – the mask in my hands. A plus is being able to put together fun fabric combinations at the same time. Knowing that they can provide protection for the wearer and others is very inspiring,” expressed Nancy Butterfield, PR Director for Coastal Quilters.
This is the second large donation the Coastal Quilters Guild has made to UBGC. Their first donation was back in April when they donated masks for over the 100 volunteers UBGC had on a weekly basis. “We love our brand new hand-made masks for our staff and club members. We are so thankful to Coastal Quilters for all their support,” commented UBGC CEO, Michael Baker.
To learn more about UBGC, please visit www.unitedg.org or call 805-681-1315
