Redwood runner gives back to teachers
Grace fundraising to provide masks for his teachers
As the months passed by and the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread in the summer, Redwood High cross country runner Hudson Grace wondered how he could make an impact in his community.
Grace, seeing the frenzied acquisition and distribution of N95 masks nationwide and in California playing out in front of him, schemed up an idea at the end of June.
Grace decided he would try to personally manufacture N95 masks for his teachers at Redwood when they returned to work. But that task soon proved to be too arduous even for Grace, who carries a 4.65 GPA and is looking at attending some of the nation’s top academic universities.
So, Grace made a quick pivot and decided to launch a fundraiser with the hopes of purchasing the masks himself to then deliver to Redwood teachers. The project earned a name, “Protect My Teachers,” and Grace used Wix to design a website. Grace, alongside his 16-year-old brother, Emerson, now had a way to make the idea into reality.
The two brothers, donning masks and practicing social distancing, did it the old-fashioned way and went door to door. As expected during a global pandemic, the project got off to a rough start.
“Honestly at first, it was very stressful,” Grace said. “But we’re both used to being in some uncomfortable situations and we just get through it. He is an athlete, too, and we both grinded through it. Some people were like, ‘Hey get off our porch. We don’t want solicitors.’”
But soon, once they were able to finally explain what they were doing and that they were not just some random salesmen, people began to listen. The project picked up steam — and dollars.
Grace realized that if he carefully
selected his locations, as opposed to trying to cover as much ground as possible, the return might be greater. Neighborhoods both in Ross and Larkspur were particularly generous.
In the end, with the numbers carefully written in
his ledger, the final dollar amount came out to $800. After chipping in some money of his own to cover shipping costs, Grace had enough funds to purchase 160 CDC-verified NIOSH N95 masks, which he did so from suppliers like N95 Mask Co. and Costco.
Those masks are now at Redwood, ready for teachers to use when school is back in session for in-person instruction.
The situation remains fluid — no official return date has been given — as the state continues to grapple with the pandemic.
In Grace’s mind, the project was rather simple. He just wanted teachers to have a sense of security when they came back to work.
Redwood science teachers Dr. Mutlu Kartin and Marissa Peck said they weren’t surprised to see
Grace, one of their brightest students, take the initiative.
“We almost bursted into tears,” Dr. Kartin said when they found out about the project. “And we were like, well that’s Hudson. What else do you expect from him? He’s so thoughtful of other people, he values his teachers — and he shows that in the right way.
“It’s so organic, so natural. We were so happy to
hear he started something amazing.”
Peck, who has taught Grace with Dr. Kartin in chemistry, was one of the people who helped with the project.
While N95 masks will not be specifically required for teachers when they return to work, evidence strongly suggests they are some of the most effective masks available. And for
the teachers at Redwood, they will be waiting for whoever would like to use one.
“I’m really thankful for that,” Peck said. “The district is going to provide some protective equipment, but I’m not sure what it is. And I know that the N95 masks — that’s what healthcare providers are wearing, so that makes me feel a lot better about it.”