VA Girl Joins Schoolmate In Helping Workers During Coronavirus

ASHBURN, VA — A 7-year-old girl from Loudoun County asked her parents how she could help the doctors and nurses who are taking care of coronavirus patients. After researching the idea for her daughter, Kat Siedlecki came across the Inova Health Foundation's website where individuals can create their own fundraising pages to support Inova's staff members working on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis.

Siedlecki consulted with her daughter Zosia who told her parents that she liked the idea of creating a fundraising campaign in her name. All of the funds on Zosia's page will go to Inova's Emergency Preparedness Fund, which was created to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Zosia goes to the same school in Ashburn as a 7-year-old boy who traveled with his mother to hotels in the Ashburn area to collect shower caps, face masks and gloves for delivery to Inova Fairfax Hospital. Zohaib Begg collected more than 6,000 items that could be used as personal protective equipment for health care workers struggling to find adequate protective gear.

Siedlecki said she's not sure if Zohaib inspired her daughter to raise money for health care workers. But the mother wasn't surprised when Zosia, a nickname for Zofia, wanted to help health care workers in a time of crisis. Siedlecki recalled Zosia asking her what she could do to help Loudoun's homeless population. In response, Zosia put some fruit in a box and Siedlecki delivered it to a community member in need.

"It's pretty heartwarming to see kids really stepping up in this time," Siedlecki said.

Zosia and Zohaib attend Guidepost Montessori School at Broadlands in Ashburn, a school that serves children through fifth grade. Both children are in the lower elementary part of the school, which covers first and second grade. The upper elementary part of the school is grades three through five.

The idea to start a fundraising campaign originated a week ago when Zosia came downstairs in her family's home in Aldie holding a big sign with colored letters that she made during a break from her school's distance learning lessons. The sign read: "Thank you doctors and nurses for helping people who have the COVID-19."

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After showing her parents the sign, Zosia asked her parents if she could hang the sign on the front of their house and put a box outside where neighbors could drop off donations for doctors and nurses. Siedlecki appreciated her daughter's concern for the wellbeing of health care workers. But she told Zosia that social distancing rules could make collecting donations outside their front door too risky.

"We had a family conversation about how great it was she came up with this idea all on her own. She told us she wanted to do this. That's very much Zosia," Siedlecki said.

Siedleckli and her husband convinced Zosia that an online campaign would probably work better.

Siedlecki checked with Reston Hospital where Zosia was born to see if they were accepting donations. But Reston Hospital was using a nonprofit organization to oversee donations for the hospital.

After more online research, Siedlecki came across the Inova fundraising campaign and checked with Zosia to see what she thought about the idea. Zosia liked it.

All donations to the Inova Emergency Preparedness Fund will be matched — up to $200,000 — by BStrong GEM on behal of the Verstandig Family Foundation.

By donating $50, Inova can buy about 44 ear loop masks. About 23 isolation gowns can be purchased with a $100 donation. Inova can buy as many as 90 N95 masks with $500. Donations totaling $1,600 allow Inova to buy a VersaFlo Powered Air Purifying Respirator System for coronavirus patients.

"Zosia is only seven, but what she is doing shows that anyone can make a difference if they have an idea to help others and just carry it forward," Siedlecki said. "A simple idea like coming down the stairs with a sheet of paper saying I want to help doctors and nurses can have a big impact."

Visit Zosia's page if you wish to donate money to assist heath care workers and patients at Inova's medical facilities across the region.

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