October 23, 2020 – Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is keeping kids’ health and safety a priority with the donation of 80,000 cloth masks to the School District of Palm Beach County this week, providing a mask for every child enrolled at a public school in grades K-5. With the return to in-person classroom learning, mask use among kids will be important to help manage the spread of COVID-19.
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation board member and Miami entrepreneur, Salo Grosfeld, spearheaded the donation with the manufacturing of the masks at his family-owned business, J.R. United Industries. The cloth masks are custom-made for school-age children, and they include the iconic heart/bear logo of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
“As children head back to school, we are proud to partner with the School District of Palm Beach County in a meaningful way to help keep kids safe from COVID-19, and also potentially avoid transmission to teachers, administrators, and their families, too,” said Michelle Boggs, President of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“We are champions for children, especially during a public health crisis and we’re grateful to colleagues like the School District of Palm Beach County for working with us to keep kids safe and healthy,” said Matthew A. Love, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “We also want to thank our board member Salo Grosfeld for his passion and leadership in making this large-scale distribution of masks possible.”
"Now more than ever, the health and well-being of our students is a top priority," said Dr. Donald E. Fennoy II, Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent. "We are grateful for the support of our community partners, such as Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, for stepping forwarded and helping us keep our students and staff safe."
Find additional COVID-19 resources from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, from advice for parents, to the hospital’s response and the relief fund at www.nicklauschildrens.org/coronavirus. Learn about more ways to help kids at https://give.nicklauschildrens.org.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with nearly 800 attending physicians and more than 475 pediatric subspecialists. The 309-bed hospital, known as Miami Children’s Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization established to support the delivery of and access to world-class healthcare at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, South Florida’s only freestanding children’s hospital. Founded in 1982 as Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation was the vision of Ambassador David M. Walters who, after losing his 6-year-old granddaughter to leukemia in 1970 due to lack of medical resources, vowed no child would ever have to leave South Florida for healthcare. Today, alongside major benefactors Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation is dedicated to raising critical funds for patients and families served at the 309-bed flagship facility and its network of outpatient centers, extending from southern Miami-Dade to Martin County. For more information, visit https://give.nicklauschildrens.org.
About The School District of Palm Beach County
The School District of Palm Beach County is the tenth largest in the nation and the fifth largest in the State of Florida serving more than 197,000 students (this number includes students that attend non-District operated Charter Schools) who speak 146 languages and dialects. As the largest employer in Palm Beach County, the School District has 22,600 employees, including more than 12,900 teachers. For more information, visit palmbeachschools.org.
