The pandemic might be keeping us from hosting in-person events, but not from doing our work. First off, during July Lock Arms partnered with Austin Public Health to bring safe storage messaging to parents in the Austin Independent School district.

We sponsored the Back-to-School bash event. I was gearing up for the in-person day by purchasing 1,000 cable gun locks, 20 lock boxes, stickers, and pencils. We gathered literature from the Department of Public Safety campaign and several more giveaways. We had reserved a prime location at the event for our table at the Palmer Center. We were ready to talk about safety — but as we’ve learned because of this virus, safety means many things. The number of those infected with the Covid virus started rising, and the organizers of the bash decided to postpone.

We were able to get safe storage resources into backpacks, though. Thanks to many helpers who showed up at Office Depot to load up the backpacks with resources.

Then in August, Lock Arms’ provided the same safe storage postcards, stickers and pencils to another organization. We learned that the Houston March for Our Lives group was handing out school supplies too.