Making a difference: Donate4Masks charity run by young Carmel Valley teenager

Carmel Valley 13-year-old Ezra Granet started a charity last summer called Donate4Masks, raising enough money to buy close to 20,000 surgical masks to help keep people safe in underserved communities.

“As a 13 year old I didn’t think there was much I could do about a worldwide pandemic,” wrote Ezra on the Donate4Masks website. “But with deaths reaching 600,000 worldwide, I knew I had to do something.”

To raise money, Ezra created a GoFundMe as well as a product called a MOMO (Mask On Mask Off) that he sold on Etsy. The MOMO takes the uncomfortable elastic bands off of the ears as well as holds a mask securely in place when it’s not needed. Friends from school have helped get the word out about Donate4Masks and he also received a grant from the Rotary Club of Coronado.

To purchase the masks, Ezra partnered with mask company Clinical Supplies to get masks for prices no one else could beat.

While his main goal with Donate4Masks is to help vulnerable children and their families get the proper personal protective equipment, in the late summer he saw one critical first responder group in need of support too.

“When the fire season began I noticed firefighters needed N95 masks too and it was difficult to get them,” Ezra said. “So I decided I was going to help.”

Ezra Granet (second from right) recently made a mask donation to Jewish Family Services.

(Courtesy)

Donate4Masks provided 2,000 masks for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. After fire season, Ezra supplied 2,000 masks to Family Health Center of San Diego and this month donated 6,000 masks to Jewish Family Services. Another 4,000 masks are planned to be donated to Think Dignity, a local group that works with the homeless population and Helping Hands, an organization that serves seniors.

“They always say to me ‘I can’t believe you’re so young and you want to help’,” said Ezra of the beneficiaries of his mask donations. “It’s a good mindset to have, It makes me feel really good that I’m helping people that really need it.”

In addition to his work with Donate4Masks, Ezra is an eighth grader at The Bishop’s School and is happy to be playing soccer again. After the pandemic, Ezra said he would like to continue his charity efforts but he doesn’t know yet what that might be: “For now I’m sticking with masks because that’s what people need.”

To donate, visit donate4masks.org/