happy pride! reminder: queer people— especially trans, nonbinary, and bisexual people— have a far higher chance of developing disabling symptoms from SARS2 infection. like our queer ancestors before us, true pride is in community care, including preventing viral infection.
ventilate, purify, mask 🏳️🌈
Tornadoes devastated many areas of St. Louis & we are mobilizing to provide DIY air filters to combat “Tornado Lung,” a serious respiratory threat. We are committing $2.5k and raising another $2.5k.
Please share & donate: tinyurl.com/CRFSTL2025
In partnership with @maskblocstlouis.bsky.social
You can also donate to individual gofundmes including this one for a black elder who lost her house:
www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-bla...
Action St Louis is the best place for monetary donations to go to the community right now. If you have a good source for kids masks, that is what the bloc is focusing on sourcing now
*Follow them so you can plug in and help wherever you can
If you aren't in the area, please support the gofundmes of north side residents who lost their homes. And find the groups in your areas that do on the ground work, and get involved. Be prepared for when something happens in hour community too
If you're in the area, please follow accounts of people doing the work in communities like Action StL, For the Culture, Uhuru, Operation Any Means Necessary, and Black Men Build St Louis
We are working to get masks to anyone who needs them to protect against tornado lung (issues caused by the dirt and debris in the air post tornado) and the airborne diseases that will spread in crowded shelter situations.
Areas the tornado hit are some of the most actively disinvested in neighborhoods in the state, and unfortunately that pattern has continued in relief efforts. The north side needs resources, now.
Since Friday we've given out over 10,000 masks to people affected by the tornado and to volunteers helping with sheltering, cleanup, and supply distribution.
Our members are OK. We are hard at work getting masks to people who lost homes or power, and volunteers helping with cleanup
Did you know we have five public pickup spots available? These spots are stocked with masks and COVID tests for anyone to take for free!
List of spots, with accessibility info: t.ly/NDMRX
Map of spots, interactive: t.ly/JDVqx
We got about 10,000 of these!
side view close-up of wire storage cart full of masks, zines, and COVID-19 tests. The top drawer is labeled with an orange sign reading “Free Masks & COVID-19 tests” and a dark green sign reading “Adult N95s (headstraps).” The middle drawer is labeled with a light pink sign with a QR code reading “Mask Bloc St Louis” and a lime green sign reading “Child KN95s & COVID-19 tests.” The bottom drawer is labeled with a bright pink sign showing more info in small text about mask bloc STL and a blue sign reading “Adult KN95s (earloops).” A window and a shelf of books are the in background.
front view close-up of wire storage cart full of masks, zines, and COVID-19 tests. The top drawer is labeled with a dark green sign reading “Adult N95s (headstraps).” The middle drawer is labeled with a lime green sign reading “Child KN95s & COVID-19 tests.” The bottom drawer is labeled with a blue sign reading “Adult KN95s (earloops).” Carts of books and the library entrance are in the background.
side view close-up of wire storage cart full of masks, zines, and COVID-19 tests. The top drawer is labeled with an orange sign reading “Free Masks & COVID-19 tests” and a dark green sign reading “Adult N95s (headstraps).” The middle drawer is labeled with a bright pink sign with a QR code reading “Mask Bloc St Louis” and a lime green sign reading “Child KN95s & COVID-19 tests.” The bottom drawer is labeled with a light pink sign showing more info in small text about mask bloc STL and a blue sign reading “Adult KN95s (earloops).” Library displays with books and a glass case of figurines are in the background.
a wire storage cart full of masks, zines, and COVID-19 tests near the entrance to the UCity Public Library. There are carts of books and glass doors in the background.
🥳 exciting announcement! 🥳 we have another public pickup spot to make high quality masks and COVID tests accessible to our community! stop by the University City Public Library during their open hours (listed below) to grab any free supplies you need!
hours:
M-F: 9am-9pm
Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: 1pm-5pm
we all wore high quality respirators, had air purifiers going, and communicated about any recent activity that might put us at higher risk. hanging out and building community is a very important part of our organizing! 🥰😷💗💗 (2/2)
we’re a little late on posting this (auctions, distribution, and meetings will really scramble your sense of time!! 🤪) but some members of our bloc got together over the holidays for a covid safe(r) homemade cookie + candy swap! (1/2)
We're halfway there!
image description: mask bloc fundraiser update. There is a thermometer graphic filled in about 1/3 of the way representing the amount of money raised so far. Text reads we raised $1814 / $6066 in one day! We need $4252 by January 16 to get 84,480 3m auras for mask blocs STL, Springfield, Chicago, and Urbana-Champaign. Donate at bit.ly/3m_masks.
Thanks to our amazing communities we managed to raise over $1800 in one day! Let's keep it up! We need to raise $6,066 by Jaunary 16 to win the auction and get over 84,480 3M Auras for our communities! Any little bit helps us get these masks on your lovely faces! Donate @ bit.ly/3m_masks
Any money raised beyond what is needed to secure and distribute these masks will be shared among participating blocs! Based on our calculations, this will come out to $0.14 / mask or LESS!!
In the event that we are unable to purchase any masks, we'll refund all donations through the GFM platform.
We are fundraising $6,066 by 1/16 to purchase 84,480 3M auras from a government auction for Mask Blocs Chicago, St. Louis, Urbana-Champaign, and Springfield MO! Our goal is to raise $6,066 to purchase the masks and distribute them among our blocs.
Image Description 1: Mask Bloc Fundraiser donate at bit.ly/3m_masks. Text reading $6,066 by January 16 for 84,480+ 3M Auras for Mask Blocs St. Louis, Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, & 417! alongside an image of a 3M Aura mask.
Image Description 2: 21,000+ Masks per bloc. There is a map of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois showing that the masks will be moved from Iowa to mask blocs in St. Louis, Springfield, Urbana-Champaign, and Chicago. Text reads Chicago Mask Bloc, Mask Bloc 417, COVID Safe CU, Mask Bloc STL. Donate at bit.ly/3m_masks.
84,480 3M Auras for $6,066??? At less than $0.14/mask??? For Chicago, Springfield, Urbana-Champaign, and St Louis??? Let’s make it happen!!! Donate @ bit.ly/3m_masks
If you get sick after holiday celebrations, mask up so you don't spread it to everyone around you 😷
Heads up on a mask sale: BeHealthy is selling a bunch of close-to-expiration kf94s for shipping only ($25 shipping per box of 100, netting to $0.25 per mask). Fun colors and styles included. Note: filtration material doesnt expire on masks, just the elastics do. So if it still seals, it still works!
Note that Blox states that as long as the holes are within the outer seal area (the textured edge), they should not affect filtration. If you have noticed otherwise with a fit test, please let us know so we can communicate that back to them.
We strongly recommend fit testing with your Blox masks that have this happen to see whether this affects the seal for you (for some it seems to, for others not). We are working to get more information and will update as we can. 2/2
Hello community! We’ve noticed that Blox duckbill masks sometimes get holes around where the elastics attach, as they stretch and pull away from the seam. It doesn’t happen on every mask, but please check your masks to see if they have these holes. 1/2
It's a great time to be in solidarity with disabled people by wearing your masks 😷
Need masks? In the greater St Louis metro area? Reach out! We got you(r face) covered 😷
We are bringing this profile back to life! Please note that any previously posted fundraisers on this account are finished. Thanks to our incredible community we have received masks from multiple government auctions, and recently raised funds for a number of kids' masks as well!
