What is typically a time of last minute family fun and back-to-school shopping is now filled with parental anxiety about the upcoming school year as many school systems are asking students to return to classrooms this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, teachers and administrators across the country have been complaining that their schools aren’t prepared as they do not have a proper plan in place or enough protective equipment like masks and gloves.
Tennis icon Serena Williams has heard their pleas and is doing something about it. The 38-year-old mom announced on Instagram that she is teaming up with T-shirt manufacturer Bella+Canvas, the National School Board Association, and one of the most trusted brands in education, Scholastic, to donate over 4 million face masks to schools across the county. Additionally, the partnership will provide other needed materials for the classroom to over 100,000 schools for 54 million children.

Related: Serena Williams And Her 2-Year-Old Daughter Olympia Twin In PJs While Sharing Their Morning Skincare Routine

Williams is also providing an incentive for schools to buy masks, writing, “Through the #MasksForKids program, schools can access affordable masks and educational materials, quickly. In addition to donating 4.25 million masks, another mask will be donated for each one purchased by the schools. I’m grateful to be able to help educate our schools about this resource, and to be given the opportunity to serve so many students.”
See the post below:

Coronavirus cases have been spiking among children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Association, at least 97,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus during the last two weeks of July. The number is a 40 percent surge in the nation's cumulative total of child cases, CNN reports. 

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.