A high school alumni group from China has fundraised money in order to donate thousands of masks to coom to support citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is called the Huanggang High School Alumni Association, originating from Huanggang, China. The alumni association is based in the United States and is made up of graduates of Huanggang High School who now live in the Wayland area.

Wayland High School senior, Amelia Ao, has a personal connection to the association. Ao’s family friend, Zhang An, is a member of the alumni association.

“I have a family friend who lives in Wayland but works in China,” Ao said. “His name is Zhang An–when the outbreak in China calmed down and the outbreak in America started, he went back to China to work.”

The members of the association have been donating and fundraising money to purchase personal protective equipment (PPEs) and masks to send to different places around the US.

“Last time they donated around 1000 masks to the town and 200 specifically to Traditions of Wayland Senior Living,” Ao said. “They’re planning on donating around 2000 next time.”

Along with donating to Wayland, The Huanggang High School Alumni Association has donated over 10,000 KN95 masks to university hospitals, including the UMass Memorial Hospital.

“We’re all in this together–it’s not the Chinese vs the rest of the population,” Ao said. “We’re all affected the same and we all have to do our part to try and deal with it.”