Exclusive
Madonna is on board with Meek Mill, Michael Rubin, Van Jones, Bob Kraft and Jay-Z … joining the REFORM Alliance’s effort to protect inmates and correctional facility staff from COVID-19.
REFORM is partnering with Madge’s Ray of Light Foundation to send 100,000 surgical masks to jails and prisons across the country … especially some hit hard by the coronavirus.
The massive donation includes 50,000 masks for the Cook County Jail and the Illinois Department of Corrections … where more than 600 prisoners, staffers and deputies have been infected. At last count, 7 people have died.
Another 20,000 masks are going to the Louisiana Department of Corrections, while the remaining 30,000 masks will be distributed between Vacaville Prison in California, FCI Ray Brook in New York and Suffolk Co. Sheriff’s Dept. in Massachusetts.
76ers partner and REFORM Alliance co-chair Rubin tells us … “It’s absolutely crucial that we protect our inmates and prison staff, especially since social distancing guidelines are difficult to abide by in these facilities.”
Jessica Alba‘s husband, Cash Warren, is also part of the effort — through his company, Pair of Thieves — to distribute the PPE at a time when the pandemic seems to be intensifying at several correctional facilities. Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Virginia experienced their first COVID-19 deaths in prisons or jails within the past week.
This is the second big donation from REFORM — last month, the Alliance sent 100,000 surgical masks to Rikers Island, the Tennessee Department of Corrections and the Mississippi State Penitentiary.