If you didn’t read our update from the summer of 2025, you can find it here.

The second half of 2025 was the start of many firsts for CHC! One exciting project we introduced in autumn was DIY drink valves. Drink valves let you use straws while masking, which can be incredibly useful, but the commercial option isn’t financially accessible for many. Over the summer, a CHC organizer wondered if anybody had tried to DIY these before, and a quick search yielded a bulk supply ordering guide via Reddit. At around $2 per valve compared to the commercial $15, this organizer thought DIY drink valves could be a cost-effective resource that CHC could provide for free to our Bay Area neighbors. They took this project idea to the rest of the collective, and we went ahead with a test run. By the end of the year, we distributed nearly 200 kits! The experience has been a nice reminder that it often only takes one person to get the ball rolling — everyone has the potential to make some kind of positive impact on their community. Visit this page on our website to learn how to install DIY drink valves on a mask and request kits from CHC.

In August and November, CHC hosted fit testing events for the first time! This is something we’ve been thinking about and wanting to do since 2022. If you haven’t heard of it before, fit testing can show whether a mask effectively protects you. You can DIY a qualitative fit test or use a machine called a PortaCount, which compares the ambient air to the air inside the mask and provides quantitative data on how well a mask fits a person's face. At each event, we asked people interested in fit testing to bring two headstrap masks that they typically like to wear. If people didn't have any go-to masks or the ones they brought didn’t pass the test, we offered a variety of masks on hand in different shapes and sizes for people to try out. CHC volunteers helped check that masks were comfortable and secure without noticeable gaps before sending people on to the PortaCount station.  

Quantitative fit tests involve probing a mask to attach a tube that feeds air from inside the mask into the PortaCount. Volunteers used the equipment to conduct a rough evaluation to check for leaks before running the formal four-minute test. Many masks required troubleshooting at this stage, such as nose-wire adjustments, playing with head strap placement, and adding strap-tightening toggles. When this exercise indicated a mask looked likely to pass, volunteers walked through the test's four-step process — regular breathing, heavy breathing, speaking, and head movement — with participants before beginning the test. Once complete, people received a sheet noting how their masks scored during each test stage, as well as a composite score for each. Folks whose first two masks did not pass tested as many additional masks as time allowed. By the end, most participants identified at least one passing mask they were comfortable in.

Both of these events had a separate station for assembling the bulk DIY drink valve supplies into kits as people waited to test their masks. We hosted these two combination mask fit testing and DIY drink valve kit assemblies in Oakland. This year we hope to host more and we've been in touch with Mask Bloc Sunset SF about collaborating on an event in the city! We want to give a big shoutout to the local community fit testing advocates and volunteers who generously continue to share their time, knowledge, and equipment with us so that we can get more people tested (here’s their FAQ). If you want to help these fit testing advocates with organizing an event with your community or with their home visits trial run, you can join their Fit Testing for All discord server to learn more.