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Kina Wu from Animal Haven and Diane Gauld from Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) model face masks made and donated by Ada Nieves.

Alliance Channels Fashionable Face Masks to Frontline Shelter Workers

Kina Wu from Animal Haven and Diane Gauld from Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) model face masks made and donated by Ada Nieves.

We were thrilled when pet fashion legend Ada Nieves donated a supply of her handmade face masks to the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals to share with our rescue partners and volunteers. The stylish accessories have great fashion appeal, but more important, can help reduce transmission of the coronavirus. So when we received a shipment of masks from Ada, we immediately contacted Animal Haven, one of our rescue partners that is doing amazing work in the community assisting pet owners struggling with the challenges of the pandemic.

Our friends at Animal Haven enthusiastically accepted the donation, and distributed them among the shelter’s staff members who are on the front lines caring for the animals at the shelter.

“We are so grateful for the donations from the community during this crisis and these masks are so stylish and fun,” said Jenny Coffey, Animal Haven’s Director of Community Engagement. “We always believed Ada had a special knack for dressing Chihuahuas — her new line raises the bar for the entire animal welfare community!”

Not only is Animal Haven directly assisting COVID-19-affected members of the community by taking in displaced pets, but Jenny helps to lead the resource desk of the NYC COVID-19 Pet Hotline launched by NYC Emergency Management and its Animal Planning Task Force, where she navigates some of the more complicated hotline cases that require more challenging animal placements.

We also donated several of Ada’s masks to Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), via Diane Gauld, former Alliance staffer who, up until last year, organized Adoptapalooza, and is currently a Veterinary Technician on the medical staff at ACC.

Once again we extend our sincere appreciation to Ada and her mother, Ada Sr., for generously donating their beautiful face masks to help keep the NYC frontline shelter workers safe. And we also applaud those valiant frontline workers who are working tirelessly to care for NYC’s animals during this unprecedented crisis.