Pati Navalta had the process down as the founder and leader of the Robby Poblete Foundation. Gun Buy-Back. Art of Peace. Vocational training.
Ah, but that rabid, life-changing rascal COVID-19. And “planning for the future” was tossed into the kitchen sink disposal.
“We couldn’t have our Gun Buy-Back for Solano County because we always plan as far out as possible,” Navalta said. “By this time, we would know when the Gun Buybacks would be in Solano and the other cities we do. We’d know when we would launch the Art of Peace Exhibit and in partnership we would know when the career fairs would be.”
With shelter-in-place, “nothing could be planned,” Navalta said, lamenting the loss of fundraising revenue when a golf tournament and annual event were canceled.
Navalta pondered how to maintain the mission statement for the foundation named after her murdered son — “helping save lives” — and devised a Robby Poblete Foundation PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) Kit sent to as many healthcare workers as possible.
The demand has been unbelievable, Navalta said by phone Friday afternoon. Kits have been delivered to FoodMaXX, Windsor Vallejo Care Center, Legacy at Sonoma, Hazel’s Tranquility House, Travis Credit Union, Lyft, California Medical Facility, Vacaville, Hillcrest Post Acute, Generations Healthcare, Napa State Hospital, and MSK Solutions, Fairfield.
Some kits were delivered to a healthcare worker in New York who sent a plea for PPE when she noticed the Robby Poblete Foundation on Instagram, getting word to Navalta: “The agency I work for does not provide any PPE and we are left to find them on our own. Working in many different homes with many different patients, you can imagine how frightening it is. I am in desperate need.”
The Poblete Foundation kits were also delivered to a grateful Pastor Keanu Ayers at United Pursuit Church in Vallejo, posting that “it was awesome being on the receiving end of kindness.”
More than 1,000 masks, pairs of gloves and hand sanitizers have been delivered, Navalta said, acknowledging Savage & Cooke distillery on Mare Island for donating eight gallons of sanitizer.
“I felt so bad when we started this because we couldn’t give supplies and masks to all those who asked for them,” Navalta said. “We’re not a huge nonprofit. Our approach was to get it directly to the essential workers as long as supplies lasted.”
Some of the funding for the kits was initially earmarked for the Gun Buybacks, Art of Peace Exhibit and vocational training.
“What I did early on was to call those different foundations and plead our case” to redirect the money to PPE, Navalta said.
That would be the city of Vallejo, Wells Fargo, and the California Wellness Foundation.
“All of them said ‘yes’” to creating and delivering PPE kits, Navalta said.
When the aforementioned programs return “is hard to determine right now,” Navalta said. “We’re trying to navigate the new world. We don’t know what that’s going to be. Once we have a clearer picture, of course, we’d love to have the Gun Buybacks. Right now, we’ll continue to fund-raise and continue our mission to save lives.”
Robby Poblete Foundation masks are available starting Monday via robbypobletefoundation.org.
Thank you: Times Herald
