In an expression of support for McCallie School, parents of Chinese students who are McCallie boarding students have shipped several thousand protective masks, including some N95 masks, to the school, according to a school news release.
The masks will be distributed to McCallie faculty and staff on Friday. At the same time, Headmaster Lee Burns will deliver several boxloads of masks, including the N95 masks, to Parkridge Health System.
The Chinese parents shipped the masks to McCallie after hearing from their sons that the Chattanooga area had a shortage of masks due to the coronavirus pandemic. The parents, spread throughout China, coordinated a detailed effort that obtained the masks and secured their shipment to McCallie. The masks arrived earlier this week.
“This is such a generous and loving gesture by these parents,” said Burns. “We are humbled by their act of kindness.”
Burns said that the parents have sent additional masks to McCallie over the next few weeks. When those masks arrive, they will, like the first shipment, be shared with local hospitals. Parkridge Health System’s main facility is located two blocks from the McCallie campus and over the years has been used frequently by McCallie students and staff.