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.