The Monadnock Community Mask Makers are gearing up for a back-to-school push to ensure students will have adequate face coverings.
The group initially paired with End 68 Hours of Hunger – ConVal after in-person schooling was called off this spring, slipping packets with masks and instructions for use and cleaning into the packaged meals delivered to food-insecure students.
“I loved that idea, immediately,” said Carol Cleary, End 68 Hours coordinator. “It was perfect. The bags were the perfect way to get them there…to be distributed throughout the family.”
The group made over 1,700 masks to distribute to local students.
“We wanted to have more than enough,” said mask-maker Heather Stockwell. “We wanted to make sure that the bus drivers had masks.”
Now that ConVal district students are gearing up for an at least partial return to school with masks required on school grounds, the Mask Makers group is seeking more mask materials to ramp up production.
“We saw the need,” Stockwell said. “We saw the studies were showing that masks actually do make a difference in spreading or not spreading the virus. There’s a lot of people who still need masks in the community and if they are required in some places, that could be a financial barrier for some people.”
Returning to school during an ongoing pandemic is uncharted territory for all, but the Mask Makers are doing their part to help it go smoothly.
“It’s going to be a whole new ball game for everybody,” Cleary said, “but the bags are ready.”
If you’d like to get involved, look up the Monadnock Community Mask Makers on Facebook or contact Stockwell at heather@radnh.org. If you have maskmaking supplies to donate, the MAxT Makerspace in Peterborough is the home base and also hosts a Repair Cafe where you can have your damaged masks repaired.