Minnesota Girl Donates Clear Masks to Children’s Minnesota to Help People Who Lip-Read
For many hearing-impaired people like Lainey Brod, the mask mandate is difficult to navigate. That's because people like Lainey use lip-reading to fill in the gaps of things they don't hear during a conversation. Well, with everyone wearing masks it's now impossible to lip read. That's why Lainey came up with the idea to donate clear masks to Children's Minnesota.
Lainey has worn hearing aids since she was three, according to KARE 11. And sometimes she relies on lip-reading and facial expressions to understand what someone is saying, which, as I mentioned earlier, has become difficult due to masks. Many other kids who visit Children's Minnesota for audiology appointments are also struggling because of the mask mandate, so she decided to help out other kids like her.
So Lainey started selling bracelets that she makes and people went nuts for them! She was able to raise $2,000 from her bracelet sales and donated the money to Children's Minnesota. With this money, Children's Minnesota will be able to purchase "270 clear masks for healthcare workers who work with kids who are deaf and hard of hearing."
Now that Lainey has raised the money for Children's Minnesota, she is going to focus on getting speech therapists in schools clear masks too.
I think what Lainey is doing is fantastic. I love that she's able to take an unfortunate situation like COVID and turn it into an opportunity to help others!