Sacramento News & Review
Support Local Independent Journalism Sign up for our newsletter!
  • News
    • Crime Beat
    • COVID-19
    • police reform
  • Voices
    • Greenlight
    • Fifteen Minutes
    • Essay
    • Ask Joey
    • Ask 420
  • Arts+Culture
    • Dish
    • Music
    • Home & Garden
    • Rebooting the Arts
  • Calendar
  • Solving Sacramento
    • Rebooting the Arts
    • Housing
    • ABOUT SOLVING SACRAMENTO
  • Newsletter
  • Become a supporter
  • More…
    • Local Dining
    • SN&R Archive
    • Best of Sac
    • SAMMIES
    • Sponsored Content
    • Independent Journalism Fund
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Contact Us
Hot Topics
  • March 9, 2021 | In light of recent deaths, Sacramento City Hall faces reckoning on warming centers
  • March 24, 2023 | ‘Uprooted’ exhibit opens in Sacramento, commemorating the darkest moment – and the tale of survival – for Californians of Japanese descent
  • March 24, 2023 | California’s drought is not over
  • March 23, 2023 | Sacramento’s Miller Park becomes a safe ground for those experiencing homelessness
  • March 22, 2023 | Letters: Everything sucks everywhere all at once
  • March 21, 2023 | The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
Spotlight Community

Volunteers for a Safer Sacramento

Volunteers pass out free masks for SacRT riders. Photo courtesy of SacRT

By: Allen Pierleoni August 17, 2020

When Jessica Gonzalez learned that Sacramento Regional Transit District had received 60,000 free face masks from federal, state and city sources, she knew just what to do.

To help fight the pandemic, SacRT requires its passengers to wear masks or face coverings while waiting for or riding all of its transit, so Gonzalez – SacRT’s Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Information – figured it would be a win-win to hand out masks to riders who didn’t have them.

The only challenge was finding volunteers to do the job.

No worries, as it turned out.

First, she reached out to the state’s California Volunteers office, which supplied an email list of potential volunteers.

“We were really excited about the response, and it was humbling to see so many people willing to give their time to help,” Gonzalez says.

Next, a series of orientation sessions were held, at which the volunteers received personal protective equipment to use during their shifts.

“We reviewed track safety and what they would be doing,” she says. “They also picked up bags of pre-packaged masks to hand out to riders at light rail stations and transit centers across the region.”

The program has been a big score for SacRT, its riders and its corps of volunteers, who represent a diverse cross-section of our region.

They’re people like analyst Ginger Smith.

“It’s frustrating to see others who don’t heed the directives that call for facial coverings in public,” she says. “I want to be a part of a solution, not just grumble about the problem. SacRT has given me such an opportunity, (helping riders) who are also my neighbors and fellow human beings.”

And there’s educator Erin Lebacqz, who sees it as “a great way to do something for individual members of our community and to contribute to the overall health safety of our city,” she says. “As a lifelong educator, my ‘norm’ is to get out there and do direct things other people need. This project helps me do that during these hard times. It’s a good feeling.”

Also, there’s U.S. Census enumerator Daniel Domich. For him, this taste of volunteerism could be a stepping stone to bigger things.

“I’m definitely using this opportunity to get into the volunteer ecosystem, and I plan on continuing to other volunteer options as things open up,” he says.

TOPICS:masksSacramento Regional Transit DistrictSacRTvolunteers

Our content is free, but not free to produce

If you value our local news, arts and entertainment coverage, become an SN&R supporter with a one-time or recurring donation. Help us keep our reporters at work, bringing you the stories that need to be told.

Become a supporter
Newsletter

Stay Updated

For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
We'll tell you the story behind the story.

    • Previous post
    • Next post

    About the Sponsor

    Sacramento Regional Transit District
    The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as SacRT, is the 2019 national TSA Gold Standard Security Award recipient for the highest standard of excellence and is the regional transit provider in the capital of California (the 5th largest economy in the world). It operates more than 80 bus routes, 43 miles of light rail serving 52 light rail stations and ADA paratransit services--all within a 400 square-mile service area throughout Sacramento County. This includes service in the cities of Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom and Rancho Cordova. http://www.sacrt.com/

    Related Articles

    Arts+Culture, COVID-19, Voices

    Grassroots generosity


    COVID-19, Voices

    Letters: Masks, statues, police reform


    Dish

    Temple Coffee apologizes for mask rule confusion


    News, Voices

    Streetcar to nowhere?


    Meet the sponsors

    • Berkeley Strategy Advisors
      Berkeley Strategy Advisors

      published 5 articles

    • BRIDGE Housing
      BRIDGE Housing

      published 3 articles

    • California Workforce Association
      California Workforce Association

      published 13 articles

    • City of Roseville
      City of Roseville

      published 4 articles

    • Del Paso Boulevard Partnership
      Del Paso Boulevard Partnership

      published 28 articles

    • Exotic Plants
      Exotic Plants

      published 6 articles

    • Joshua's House Hospice
      Joshua's House Hospice

      published 1 article

    • Midtown
      Midtown

      published 11 articles

    • N&R Publications
      N&R Publications

      published 5 articles

    • Northern California Research
      Northern California Research

      published 10 articles

    • Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services
      Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services

      published 5 articles

    • Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services
      Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services

      published 1 article

    • Sacramento Regional Transit District
      Sacramento Regional Transit District

      published 28 articles

    • SEIU
      SEIU

      published 30 articles

    • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
      Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

      published 1 article

    • The California Endowment
      The California Endowment

      published 65 articles

    • Volunteers of America
      Volunteers of America

      published 8 articles

    • Workforce Development Board of Solano County
      Workforce Development Board of Solano County

      published 4 articles

    Our Sponsors

    Berkeley Strategy Advisors BRIDGE Housing California Workforce Association City of Roseville Del Paso Boulevard Partnership Exotic Plants Joshua's House Hospice Midtown N&R Publications Northern California Research Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services Sacramento Regional Transit District SEIU Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The California Endowment Volunteers of America Workforce Development Board of Solano County

    Categories

    Community

    Tags

    2020 affordable housing art astrology Black Lives Matter board of supervisors budget California cannabis City Council city hall climate change coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 in Sacramento Donald Trump election food gardening gavin newsom George Floyd homeless homelessness horoscopes jobs Joe Biden letters Mayor Darrell Steinberg music november election pandemic police reform president donald trump presidential election protests public health sacramento sacramento county Sacramento police Sacramento Regional Transit District SacRT SEIU Stephon Clark strong mayor taxes
    Newsletter

    Stay Updated

    For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
    We'll tell you the story behind the story.

      Recent Posts
      • ‘Uprooted’ exhibit opens in Sacramento, commemorating the darkest moment – and the tale of survival – for Californians of Japanese descent
      • California’s drought is not over
      • Sacramento’s Miller Park becomes a safe ground for those experiencing homelessness
      • Letters: Everything sucks everywhere all at once
      • The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
      Links
      • Newsletter Signup
      • Follow us on Twitter
      • Find us on Facebook
      • SN&R Archives
      • Best of Sac
      • SAMMIES
      • RSS
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Service
      • Contact Us
      Become a supporter
      Categories
      • 2020 election (86)
      • Arts & Culture (43)
      • Arts+Culture (414)
      • Ask Joey (1,017)
      • Behind the Issues (1)
      • Cannabis (39)
      • COVID-19 (312)
      • Crime Beat (101)
      • Dish (74)
      • Food (12)
      • Greenlight (492)
      • Home & Garden (77)
      • Housing (47)
      • Music (66)
      • News (1,160)
      • Rebooting the Arts (33)
      • Solving Sacramento (47)
      • Stage (8)
      • The arts (4)
      • Voices (477)

      © 2019+ Sacramento News & Review