Andrew Truong in a mask<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really learned the heartbreaking truth about what is happening behind the scenes and how this pandemic is affecting their personal lives,\u201d Truong said. \u201cImmediately, I wanted to help everyone on the frontlines, but of course I didn\u2019t have the resources so I created the fundraiser on GoFundMe as a way to gain the resources so I could buy masks on a larger scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
After launching the GoFundMe page, also known as \u201cThe Battle of the Mask,\u201d to raise money and posting it on social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, Truong began sending masks for free \u2013 shipping included \u2013 to first responders, healthcare workers and their families. When I spoke with Truong on May 15, he had raised more than $3,000 and distributed approximately 1,500 masks. His goal \u2013 for now \u2013 is $5,000.<\/p>\n
Those who know Truong are not surprised about this mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has always been the sort of person at the school to help me with a positive attitude toward training,\u201d said Jules Wertis, a student at White Dragon. \u201cPeople like him give me a feeling of hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis crisis shows people through a magnifying glass. We see who people really are at their core. Mr. Truong is a person of the highest character. We need to hear stories of positive people doing good deeds in times like this,\u201d continued Wertis, who works as a San Diego library assistant.<\/p>\n
As word has spread about Truong\u2019s good work, his crusade has expanded enough to require a little help from his friends. One friend is handling email follow-ups and two more volunteers are looking into getting \u201c#battleofthemask\u201d ironed onto masks for distribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister is using a Cricut Maker to cut all the vinyl and a coworker is going to do the ironing,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m glad they\u2019re helping me because as the fundraiser got bigger and the requests for masks exponentially grew, it got a lot harder to do on my own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to help as many people as possible,\u201d Truong continued. \u201cI wish I could eliminate this pandemic, but since that\u2019s not possible, I\u2019m doing everything I can to raise more money and buy more masks. I want those in the frontlines to feel the support, protection and love they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interested in joining the fight for The Battle of the Masks? Visit Andrew Truong\u2019s GoFundMe page at gofundme.com\/f\/protect-the-fighters<\/a> or check out his Instagram page @struongtruong.<\/p>\n\u2014 Genevieve Suzuki es abogada de derecho familiar y ex editora de La Mesa Courier.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By GENEVIEVE SUZUKI Although they are never welcome, crises can bring out the best in people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people like me are hunkering down with their families, baking bread and cutting their own kids\u2019 hair, and doing whatever they can to tread water. And there\u2019s no shame in that. We do what we […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":729,"featured_media":227008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11548","_seopress_titles_title":"Martial artist takes on \u2018The Battle of the Mask\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11548,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-mesa-courier","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/729"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Martial](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/andrew-in-mask.jpg\")
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