A message from Natalia:

My grandma Lida lived for several years at Wexner Heritage House in Columbus, Ohio. I would always visit her when I was in town. Like many of the residents there, my grandma was a holocaust survivor. My grandma was a fighter, but dementia was winning. She had limited English, so visits from family were vital to her happiness. My father would visit my grandma daily. Although she passed away 4 years ago, those daily visits are still fresh in my father’s memory. He told me he would be at a complete loss if he wasn’t allowed to visit her – like so many others aren’t able to visit their loved ones at this time due to Covid-19. He wouldn’t be able to handle the worry and stress – knowing how vulnerable she would be. The heartache of not being able to visit loved ones right now is hard enough as it is, but to worry about them getting sick is truly heart-breaking. 

Our grandparents and parents in nursing homes are the most at-risk population. And one of the best ways to protect them is to make sure that the people who take care of them have appropriate PPE, such as surgical masks. Not only are the doctors, nurses, and care-takers protected, but our loved ones are less likely to get the virus. It has been proven that surgical masks are most affective for reducing the spread of virus droplets when worn by the contagious person.

I have spent the past month contributing to the “Make A Mask” effort- creating and donating masks to hospitals, first responders, essential workers, and the elderly. When friends and family started to volunteer donations to help with the mask making efforts, I realized I was in a unique position to help on a bigger scale. It’s great to be able to make cotton masks, but it’s even better to be able to obtain and distribute surgical masks and other PPE to those most in need, and often most overlooked.

For every Crystal for a Cause bracelet sold, we will donate 50% of profits to nursing homes in need of PPE. Whether through direct monetary donations or by using the funds to secure and donate surgical masks and other PPE. We already have the logistics worked out, so the money will be put to immediate use. We are also accepting direct donations (100% of donations will go directly to the nursing homes). 

Currently, we are fundraising for Wexner Heritage Village and The Forum At Knightsbridge in Columbus, Ohio (Go Bucks!), but we are open to contributing to other retirement facilities anywhere in the USA. Please e-mail us if you know of one in need info@nataliafedner.com. We have a reliable source for surgical masks, but the prices are steep. So please let us know if you have other sources. It is our #1 priority to get as many surgical masks as possible to these nursing homes immediately.

The folks at The Forum at Knightsbridge sent us this uplifting video – we can’t wait to help them!