So many Americans right now are stepping up to help their communities. Zohaib Begg, a 7-year-old from VA, is one of them. This inspiring kid has been gathering supplies from hotels to donate to the medical professionals at his local hospital. patch.com/virginia/ashbu…
Chief Kindness Officer
Hi. My name is Zohaib. Some of my friends like to call me Z. I am 10 years old. I am in 5th grade at The Newton School in Virginia!
One thing I love is ALL sports. Playing and watching! I play soccer and golf. Me and my family love to go to Capitals, Nationals, and DC United games.
I also love to read books. Books at home, at the library, and at Barnes and Nobles. In my other free time, I play chess, code, build legos, ride my bike, scooter, and swim. And if I have more free time I learn new things! This year I learned how to hoverboard and ice skate.
Lastly, I love helping people, especially Doctors and Nurses. I think doctors and nurses are amazing superheroes because they save lives. They helped save my life when I had gotten really sick. I had to leave my school and all the sports I love. But these awesome doctors figured out what was wrong with me, took it out of my body and cared for me at the hospital. Now I am healthy and can do anything I love.
When the pandemic started in March 2020, I just knew I had to help the doctors and nurses who had helped me. And so I did! You can read all about how I came up with an idea to collect PPE from hotels. It turned out to be pretty awesome. It is great to be able to help others.
I hope this pandemic is finally over but if you know anyone who still needs PPE they can always ask me for some. Just visit the Need PPE page and I'll be sure to send some over.
Executive Team
This is Executive Team section
My PPE Project
A timeline of how I helped my community.
I Kept Hearing About The Problem
There's many doctors in my family and I kept hearing about the shortage of personal protective equipment from them and also on the news.
Finding A Solution
I wanted to make masks, and started watching YouTube videos on how to make them, but realized I did not know how to sew nor did I have the necessary equipment. Then I started thinking about what else I could do.
An Idea Came To Me
I overheard my Aunt, an ER doctor, asking if she could borrow my mom's swim caps because there was a shortage of headgear. That made me think maybe she could use a shower cap instead, so I asked her if shower caps could be used as PPE, and she said yes. I knew exactly who would have a bunch of shower caps!
Taking Action
Because I travel so much with my family, I remembered that hotel rooms always have shower caps. I made a list of all the hotels in my town, and I asked my mom if she would help me call them for shower caps donations. Not only did I collect a bunch of shower caps, I was able to collect masks and gloves too!
Going For A Goal
I was so excited to tell my aunt and the hospital that I had collected 3000 units of PPE, but I wanted to collect even more. That same night I saw in the news that the Washington National Cathedral donated 5000 masks to nearby hospitals, and I just knew I could beat that number. I convinced my mom to please please let me keep going even though the shutdown had started.(Read the article)
DID IT!!!
I kept calling and going to other hotels who had supplies for me, and when I counted again, I had reached 6009 units of PPE! We immediately called the hospital to let them know about the supplies we had collected for them, and they quickly sent a courier to my house to collect everything.(See the news story)
President Obama Said I Did A Good Job
My local community was inspired by what I did, but I could not believe that President Obama heard about what I did and thought I did a good job and then tweeted about my work.
Continuing
I continue to collect PPE from hotels and provide it to those in need. If you need PPE, please click here for a PPE kit.
Press
A collection of articles and news stories about the project.
Good Morning America
New Disney x Bombas collection highlights kids going above and beyond
10/18/2021
Read MoreWhat People Are Saying
Mentions from leaders and news organizations on X.
Health care workers treating COVID-19 patients across the U.S. have repeatedly warned of dangerously low supplies of personal protective equipment. This Virginia 7-year-old heard them -- and took action. @krisvancleave reports cbsn.ws/3dUphHh
Zohaib is one of so many people we are seeing across the Commonwealth doing the right thing to help their family, friends, and neighbors. You all make me proud to be a Virginian.
So many Americans right now are stepping up to help their communities. Zohaib Begg, a 7-year-old from VA, is one of them. This inspiring kid has been gathering supplies from hotels to donate to the medical professionals at his local hospital. patch.com/virginia/ashbu…
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: A 7-year-old Ashburn boy has made it his personal mission to help health care workers on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic. wjla.com/news/local/sec…
Obama praises 7-year-old Fairfax Co. boy who donated 6,000 masks, gloves, shower caps to hospital wusa9.com/article/news/l…
A 7-year-old in Virginia found a special way to show his appreciation to the hospital workers fighting on the front lines to save patients from COVID-19. abcn.ws/39SIzcQ
Thanks for the note, Zohaib! We loved sharing your story last week on the @CBSEveningNews
Health care workers treating COVID-19 patients across the U.S. have repeatedly warned of dangerously low supplies of personal protective equipment. This Virginia 7-year-old heard them -- and took action. @krisvancleave reports cbsn.ws/3dUphHh
INOVA Galas
Supporting frontline workers and pediatric care through fundraising.
2020
Being part of my first MILLION dollars fundraiser was AMAZING! The money I raised went towards: 1. Purchasing Compassion Carts which are filled with healthy snacks because many staff dealing with COVID 19 cannot leave sanitized areas and take PPE off for several hours. Compassion Carts allow essential staff the ability to grab a quick snack during their long long day. 2. Providing mental health apps for free, such as calm and headspace, so Frontline Workers can take some time to decompress and relax after physically and emotionally stressful days.
2021
Being a part of my second GALA and being a part of 2 MILLION dollars fundraiser was unbelievable! Unfortunately the pandemic is still going, and affecting children everywhere. So this year will be going towards Pediatric Care, to support the smallest but bravest people in the hospital.
2022
My third gala was even better than the previous two. INOVA was able to raise more than 4 MILLION dollars. This helped strenghten and expeand acees to mental health programs.
Our Donors
A heartfelt thank you to all the organizations that have contributed.
