Leave it to my colleague and friend Teresa Flores, the Los Angeles artist who was a co-host with me on this spring’s “Fresno Famoso,” to come up with a creative idea for a pandemic fundraiser: custom-decorated bottles of hand sanitizer.

I’m so taken with the concept that I’m buying one to give away to a lucky reader of The Munro Review.

I haven’t had a giveaway in months, for the simple reason that I usually give away tickets to live performances. (And those are few and far between these days, as you know.) So now’s your chance to get those comment typing fingers loosened up and ready to play.

Teresa, originally from Fresno, is known for a wide range of cool arts stuff (she has an MFA from Otis College of Art and Design and a B.A. in drawing/painting from Fresno State), including a recent public art collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

She explains her fundraiser:

Let’s raise some money and feed people! I frilled up these bottles of Germ-X Hand Sanitizer, and you can get one in exchange for a $40 donation to Ready To Help: Mutual Aid Community Network. Each $40 donation will provide a shopping cart full of groceries to one L.A. household from World Harvest Market as part of Ready To Help’s Foodraising campaign.

Each bottle is hand-painted, signed and numbered by yours truly. Use it and refill it when it’s empty. It’s safe to use and not one of the brands being recalled by the FDA. (Look up the list if you use hand sanitizer!)

I’m impressed with Teresa’s commitment to the community and the way she uses her artistic talents to give back.

She tells me: “I’m a member of Ready to Help, and they have welcomed me in to find creative ways to support each other and our communities around Los Angeles to get through the pandemic. It’s important to me to find ways to be actively involved in positive change anywhere I’m living, even if it’s small gestures.”

Here’s how the giveaway works: Leave a reply on this post (see below) answering this question: How many bottles of hand sanitizer do you estimate you’ve gone through since the pandemic began? (Or, if you’ve lost track or just shy, just tell us why you’d like to win one of Teresa’s custom bottles.) Deadline to enter is 5 p.m. Friday, July 31. The winner will be picked at random and notified by email. I’ll arrange to have the prize delivered to you by mail.

The contest is open only to members, donors and individual sponsors of The Munro Review. Tax-deductible memberships start at $5 a month, and you can make a one-time donation of as little as $3. (Paid memberships help keep the site running, and paid members get special members-only benefits. Please consider a paid membership in support of independent, local arts journalism.) A free membership option is available. For details on how to join, go to the Membership and Sponsorship page. No purchase, donation or membership is necessary to enter the ticket giveaway.

If you’d like to buy your own bottle of Teresa’s custom hand sanitizer, here are the directions:

1. Donate via Venmo to @ readytohelp.

2. If you are in the Los Angeles area, contact Teresa through direct message to arrange pick-up.

3. Outside the L.A. area, Venmo $15 to @ teresa_flores and include your address for USPS flat rate shipping.