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Two Peoria High School students have launched a fundraiser to provide COVID-19 survival kits for Sun City senior citizens.
The kits contain two masks, a hand sanitizer, pack of tissues and three pairs of gloves, all to be left on seniors’ doorsteps.
Danielle Kwan and Tatum Champion have raised $870 of their $1,000 goal that will fund a minimum of 100 kits. They say once they reach that goal they are interested in raising more.
Ms. Kwan said the idea came when she was watching a live broadcast of Gov. Doug Ducey informing senior citizens they could apply to get a mask for free in the mail.
“Personally, I just thought that more can be done. Our senior citizens deserve more,” she said. “Right after the broadcast ended, I decided that my friend Tatum and I should do something about it. We decided to use the theme from a news article I saw about ‘Ding Dong Ditch- Alcohol Edition.’ This is where people sign up and random people drop off free bottles of wine at each other’s doorsteps. We switched the idea around to fit our idea. Instead of alcohol we decided to fill up boxes with healthcare items to try and keep our senior citizens safe in tough times like these.”
Within two days of launching the fundraiser, they raised more than $800. About 150 kits have been assembled so far, and more than 100 have been delivered.
“We were overwhelmed by the amount of support that we were getting from our family, friends, teachers and even complete strangers,” she said. “We had no idea it would take off so fast, like in less than 48 hours. It blew our minds. We are hoping to still raise more and make hundreds of more boxes, but with the support of our community we know it is possible.”
The boxes also include a card to help the recipient set up a Facebook account if they do not already have one.
“We added that in not just so they could follow along with our journey, but to also give them an opportunity to connect with family without putting themselves at risk,” she said.
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
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