SANTA MONICA, CA — Theodore Berger said it came down to simple math and social media when he realized he had to help front line workers fighting the coronavirus in Los Angeles County. The Santa Monica High School junior is raising money to bring more protective gear and equipment to Los Angeles area health care workers.
Theodore partnered with classmate Nicole Thomson, other students and parents, teachers and high school staff to focus on two hospitals at the forefront of treating the coronavirus: Martin Luther King Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to the GoFundMe.
He saw a video from NowThisNews on Instagram that disturbed him and made him want to act.
“[It] was about the mobile morgues in New York City and I was curious about our population in LA and our population is 2 million more,” Theodore told Patch.
“If something so grave and so dire happened in New York it’s possible here as well,” he said.
He started researching and found a New York Times story about two hospitals who were fighting the coronavirus, Cedars Sinai and MLK.
“Both of these hospitals are very different but need help and that’s how it all started,” he told Patch. “I partnered with my fellow student Nicole Thomson and I’ve been asking my friends to help out. Some of them have quite a large social media following. I send it to my track team. I’m just trying to get it out as much as possible.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, he’s nearly reached his goal of $500.
“I’ve been reaching out to my teachers and school principals to see if they can get it out. That’s one of the main ways I’ve been doing that, through the Santa Monica High School community,” he said.
Theodore does this fundraising between his distance learning and participating in a virtual national ocean sciences competition. He said he hopes this effort for health care workers inspires other people to support front line and essential workers.
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“I’ve seen quarantine affects everyone differently, but the main thing I see is people complaining about it,” Theodore said.
For Theodore, the numbers tell the story. According to the CDC, 44,575 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus as of Tuesday.
“I just wish people would see how this is affecting people who are losing loved ones more,” he told Patch. “I hope people start thinking more about helping out others during this quarantine time rather than how quarantine affects them.”
To learn more and donate, visit the GoFundMe page to help LA County Hospitals fight COVID-19.
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