La Sierra University and ADRA Partner to Help During COVID-19

La Sierra Adventist University has partnered with Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency (ADRA) to distribute masks to the communities surrounding the university. As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread into the new year, Southern California has remained one of the hardest hit areas of the United States. ADRA, along with Partnership for Humanity, LIFT Non-Profit Logistics and Global Specialty Services have donated 500,000 masks to La Sierra University to aid in slowing the spread of the virus in these communities. 

“ADRA has been delivering life-saving supplies and resources to the most needed areas of the world since the pandemic began. In many instances, we have redirected our resources to support families here in the United States, because we know from health data, that this country currently has the most coronavirus cases globally, and we’re not out of the woods yet,” said Mario Oliveria, director for emergency management at ADRA. Students from the university will be coordinating and distributing the masks to the surrounding churches, schools, and other various establishments. 

“COVID has ravaged the southern California region . . . While vaccines are arriving and hope is on the horizon in terms of driving back this pandemic, face masks will continue to be needed during the coming months for the health and safety of everyone,” said John Thomas, dean of the La Sierra University Zapara School of Business and ADRA board member. “We are so privileged for our university and its students to be able to partner with ADRA in distributing greatly needed face masks to our communities. . .”

“We are so grateful to La Sierra University, its students, and our trusted partners for teaming up with ADRA to help communities cope in this unprecedented health crisis,” said Oliveira. 

The university is also helping to store more than a million masks for ADRA while they are preparing to send them overseas. They are expected to arrive in several Latin American countries before the end of the month. If you would like to learn more about how ADRA has been helping during the COVID-19 pandemic, check out their website at adra.org.

Hannah Olin is a sophomore

history education major from

Princeton, Ill.