‘We see you’: Redmond group plans campaign to thank schools for following Covid-19 rules
(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond Collective Action)
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Next week, the group Redmond Collective Action will host an online and in-person campaign, thanking schools for their hard work during the pandemic to keep everyone safe, schools open and kids in class.
Lena Berry, one of the main organizers, on Friday urged people all over Central Oregon to write letters of gratitude, share the #ThankSchools”, and make donations to their local schools.
“Basically, we would like to just acknowledge the hard and difficult work that is going into keeping our schools open,” Berry said.
The donations could fund a pizza party, a movie day or any event or need the school has.
Berry said school boards, principals, teachers, staff and especially students are taking the brunt of the pandemic, and all the safety policies that come with it.
“We're here, we see you. We appreciate what you’re doing,” Berry said. “Even though it’s hard and other people may be pushing you to maybe make other choices.”
This campaign comes as another group, People's Rights, which opposes school mask mandates and also is critical of vaccine mandates, is holding daily protests and urging Redmond High students to remove masks, also offering food coupons and plans a protest next Friday.
Berry understands their frustration, but thinks thanking schools should be a message all sides support.
“Everyone's tired, we're all sick of Covid, sick of fighting with people -- sick in general,” Berry said. “To be thankful and to show gratitude is a way of practicing community care, bringing everyone together on something that we can all agree on, in times that we maybe don’t necessarily agree on a lot of things.”
She said she knows that with an anti-mask protest also planned at Redmond High next Friday, not everyone will be on the same page. But she doesn’t think it will be a problem.
“Of course, people are going to feel the opposite way that we feel. Obviously, they’re trying to get kids to do a, take off the masks smile campaign, or what have you, so,” Berry said. “We're all grown-ups and adults, and we’re all community members and we can come together in this. So no, I don’t -- I think we’re all grown-ups, and we can be grown-ups.”
The group originally planned to have parades next Friday, but after consulting with parents, they decided to cancel that aspect of the campaign.
On its private Facebook group page, with about 380 members, Redmond Collective Action says: "We are a growing group of people in Redmond, Oregon dedicated to taking action for human rights, inclusion, and equality. Our mission is to tackle issues in our city and support the efforts of established organizations that promote these values in our region."
