Shields Up to Support Girls For A Change

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and face masks and shields were nowhere to be found, local entrepreneur Larkin Garbee jumped into action to help the community. Her non-profit, GOOD WORK Society, has been making face shields for the community since March. With their Buy 1 Give 1 model, for every community member who purchases a mask, one is donated to an essential employee or healthcare worker.

When Garbee and her GOOD Health Chair, Jean-Etienne LaVallee learned there was a possibility kids would be going back to school in September, they knew that not only would kids need face shields, but they needed to look fun! They reached out to local artist Hamilton Glass to create a design for the shield and decided to make it a fundraiser for local non-profit, Girls For A Change (GFAC).

“As a long time collaborator with Girls For A Change, I am always excited to find new ways to partner with Angela and her team. It brings me so much joy to be able to produce face shields that protect the community and provide a way to give back. I was also excited to design a workshop for the girls so they could have hands-on learning to engage in small batch production from a female maker, and see how their artistic skills could translate into a manufactured product,” says Garbee.

Glass has also been an ongoing collaborator and supporter of Girls For A Change (GFAC). Most notably, the community mural of Black girls at 24 E. Broad St. Hamilton also did the mural on the side of the Girls For A Change Center, has facilitated Girls For A Change Programs, and did the portrait of CEO Angela Patton for the VMFA’s RVA Community Maker series.

“I feel really privileged to be trusted to design the custom face shields by the GOOD WORK Society for the Girls For a Change girls. I designed these face shields with the outlook of each girl having a crown made of flowers on each shield,” says Glass.

The final shield design was revealed at the Girls For A Change Garden party, a social distancing event to celebrate the end of GFAC’s summer programs. Each girl received a face shield donated by GOOD WORK Society, and got the chance to design their own face shields during the event. The shields are now on sale at the GOODSTORE. The limited edition shields are signed by the artist, and are $15/piece. A portion of the proceeds benefit Girls For A Change.

The shields are approved by the infection disease and prevention team at the Health Innovation Consortium and are reusable, with a PET lens that can be sanitized and wiped down. They can be purchased here.

About Girls For A Change

Girls For A Change is a nonprofit youth development organization formed in 2000 to empower black girls and other girls of color visualize their bright futures and potential through discovery, development, and social change innovation in their communities.

About GOOD WORK Society

The GOOD WORK Society is a community of business owners, remote workers, freelancers, non profit professionals, transitioning employees, makers, doers, thinkers and entrepreneurial ecosystem builders who do GOOD WORK & believe in doing WORK for the GOOD of Society. Through the GOOD WORK Society, members can engage in GOODBUSINESS, GOODHEALTH, and GOODCOMMUNITY initiatives.