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Washington, DC—June 10, 2020—Today at 10:30 am, Central Union Mission’s Family Ministry Center (3194-B Bladensburg Rd., NE, Washington, DC 20018) will receive 30,000 face masks from the Life Preservation Initiative. The Initiative has donated the masks to Central Union Mission to protect persons experiencing homelessness and poverty from the COVID-19 virus.
According to Mission President & CEO Joe Mettimano, “This distribution is so timely. Face masks have been hard to come by for those experiencing poverty and homelessness, and their lack has intensified our neighbors’ isolation. The Family Ministry Center now serves about 4,500 people a month with a 50% increase in the number of emergency food seekers. Many come to us from hospitality and other service industries hard hit by pandemic unemployment.”
“The Life Preservation Initiative’s donation is so generous that we will be able help protect additional family members, not just the heads of households. Mission guests and staff are also included in the mask distribution, and some masks will be made available at hand-washing stations throughout the city this summer. We are grateful for the Life Preservation Initiative’s partnership, because rescue mission employees are the front line for serving, and people experiencing poverty and homelessness are especially vulnerable during this pandemic.”
On March 23, 2020, four American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) partnered with three Chinese NGOs to form the COVID-19 Life Preservation Initiative. Together, they hope to fight the pandemic hand in hand with the rest of the US, by helping to protect healthcare workers, first responders, community volunteers and vulnerable populations. The Daofeng and Angela Foundation led the way to create this initiative and donated $1000,000. Based in Maryland, the Daofeng and Angela Foundation sees the initiative as an effort to mobilize civil society in different countries to overcome a shared crisis and foster self-governance and civic awareness in the process.
Through June 7, 2020, the Initiative has donated over 884,000 PPEs to over 50 hospitals and non-profit recipients in New York, Connecticut, D.C., Maryland, New Orleans and Boston. In total, they have acquired nearly 90,000 N95 masks from the US and Japan.
The mask distribution to emergency food recipients impacted by COVID-19 closures will take place with safe social distancing outside the Family Ministry Center (3194-B Bladensburg Rd., NE, Washington, DC 20018) at 1:30 pm on June 10, 2020. Photos and interviews with Life Preservation Initiative and Mission executives will be available. Please contact Deborah Chambers at 202-534-9965 or dchambers@missiondc.org for more information.
About Central Union Mission:
Central Union Mission is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the oldest private social service agency in Washington, DC. In addition to its emergency shelter, which provides almost 60,000 bed-nights each year, the Mission operates a holistic, Christ-centered transformation and workforce development program for men, provides benefits for veterans, helps people overcome addictions, operates a food and clothing distribution center which provides food for over 4000 people each month, runs a camp for underprivileged children, and offers a ministry to families and senior citizens. Charity Navigator has rated Central Union Mission, GuideStar awarded Central Union Mission a Gold Seal for our financial transparency and GreatNonProfits has given Central Union Mission a Top-Rated award.
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