Bloomington and Normal students attending next month’s annual Back 2 School Alliance Party will find a very important item in their backpacks this year courtesy of the Illinois Heart and Lung Foundation (IHLF) – a reusable fabric face covering.
Explains Lisa Slater executive director of the IHLF, “If children are heading back into classrooms next month, we want to help keep them and everyone they come into contact with healthy. Supplying kids with a face covering in their backpacks was a no-brainer. Many aspects of life have been turned upside-down by the emergence of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease, but we are staying true to our vision and work to make our community a place where hearts are healthy and people breathe freely. The novel coronavirus threatens our vision.”
Though the IHLF has seen a significant drop in revenue due to COVID-19 related cancellations of programs and fundraising events that help pay for community outreach efforts, grant money received from State Farm for the agency’s automated external defibrillator program (AED) was able to be redirected to lung health initiatives for the purchase of face coverings. To help assure 3,000 face coverings could be purchased, Select Screen Prints stepped up and passed along substantial savings on the items.
The IHLF continues to accept financial donations through its website ihlf.org, or by mail, to support its lung-health programs including WeCover (face-covering) initiative and its many heart-health programs that fall under the Rhythm Makers® umbrella.
The WeCover initiative continues to seek hand-sewn fabric face coverings for distribution to those in need. Donations can be left at the collection box located under the canopy at the entrance to Carle BroMenn Medical Center seven-days per week, 24-hours a day. The IHLF makes donated fabric face coverings available to those in need while supplies last. For more information call, 309-556-8306.
In June, the IHLF partnered with the McLean County Health Department, the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal Police and Fire Departments, Advocate (now Carle) BroMenn Medical Center, the United Way of McLean County, and Starcrest Cleaners to collect 2,995 handsewn face coverings as part of the Take Cover initiative. Distribution of the Take Cover face-coverings is being coordinated by the McLean County Health Department.