Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

UPDATE: Thank you Amy, Dre, Shelby, Eileen & Sandy, Sara-Summer, and Jim for responding to this need.

The Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT continues to distribute face masks to trans and queer households throughout the region.

We have about 400 people on our distribution list plus several trans and queer organizations. We’ve distributed about 4500 masks since early April and we plan to continue distributing monthly into 2021, as long as resources allow.

Each mask is packed in a plastic bag. A mask order for an individual is then put into a brown paper bag and we have larger grocery bags and tote bags to hold an entire household worth of bags. This is both hygienic and easier to organize.

And we are in a bit of a jam right now. We have masks for a few months either on hand or promised, but we are low on supplies to pack and distribute. We have an active fundraiser with a 100% match for all donations from the Elsie Hillman Foundation BUT we won’t get those funds until the end and we are only 33% of the way to our goal. So that’s an important need – to seek out small donations to get us closer to that goal and ensure financial stability into 2021.

But we need help right now to get masks out in September and October, too. We need bags!

Here’s how you can help right now.

• Donate new brown paper lunch bags and sandwich sized zipper close plastic bags. You can send them via our wishlist or order them from your preferred retailer or drop off the supply you have on hand. We need 600 brown paper bags and 1200 zipper bags.
• Donate gas cards for us to distribute to our volunteers who need a little help to get their important work done.
• We need fabric! and elastic! You can send us a digital gift card from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and support two great projects at once. Our email is pghmasqueproject@gmail.com

Donate via Paypal http::/paypal.me/Pghlesbian * Donate via Venmo http://venmo.com/Pghlesbian

Donate via Cash App $pghlesbian * Donate via Zelle sitnscoop@gmail.com

You can send checks payable to Pittsburgh Masque Project in care of our fiscal sponsor, the Pittsburgh Equality Center at 5840 Ellsworth Avenue #100 * Pittsburgh, PA 15232

And you can also donate to our ioby crowdfund and see your donation of any amount instantly doubled!

For more information on how to help or where to drop-off items, visit this page.