Phoenix Suns and Rex Chapman team up to get masks to the kids

Your Phoenix Suns and popular Twitter guy Rex Chapman are combining forces to get masks in the hands of children across Arizona.

The goal is to distribute 25,000 masks to underserved communities. Targets include Beaver Creek, Casa Grande, Cottonwood, Keams Canyon, Parker, Phoenix, Yuma and Winkelman.

The first shipment was delivered Friday.

“I reached out to one of my good buddies who helps me with my opioid foundation here in Kentucky,” Chapman told Cody Cunningham of the Suns for a story on the team site. “We were able to raise quite a bit of money through my silly Twitter account for COVID relief. We had dispersed some grants to different places throughout the country and just thought that this would be a really good fit.”

All told, Phoenix Suns Charities, APS, and Chapman contributed over $100,000 to the design and manufacturing of the masks. You can’t get these masks just anywhere. They’re made from unused Suns warmups and jerseys.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Chapman told Cunningham. “What an awesome way to help heal the community and bring the community together all at once. I really do commend [The Suns] for putting this together and the thought that has gone into this. This could really help people, for sure.”

Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson weighed in on the good deed.

Chapman is looking forward to spreading even more goodwill.

“I’m fired up about it,” Chapman told Cunningham. “I had four or five of the best years of my career playing for the Suns. I love the community and I’m just happy to help in some little bitty way.”