DC Mask Protection

My friend and colleague, Ashley, and I are local DC residents, who, like many in the community, are concerned about the health of our essential workers and at-risk populations as well as the economic and social vitality of our city due to the spread of COVID-19. Due to these concerns and an urge to do something to help, we have been reaching out to stewards and community leaders within the DC business community to identify enterprises with the interest and capacity to produce cloth face masks that can be donated to local hospitals, community organizations, and other locations where they are needed most. 

In a first canvass, we have identified the need for 240 masks for Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in SE, where we hope to pilot our initiative to procure and deliver masks. Upon completion of this first initiative, we hope to expand our work to partnerships with local community organizations, non-governmental organizations, other healthcare facilities and their non-frontline workers (those who don't receive N95 masks), and public and private sector entities to continuously identify and meet demand for homemade (cloth) face masks that keep our community safe. Through initial consultations, we have identified that there is a high unmet demand city-wide.

Just a little bit about Ashley and I, we are both seasoned program managers who work on international development programs. As our nation is in crisis, we want to dedicate time to helping those in our local community and we thought that using our program management and partnership building skills to help match the supply of critical supplies (e.g., masks) with where demand is greatest, would be of best use of our time and skills.

We recognize that this time is a challenging one for local businesses that are under pressure due to the stay-at-home order. As such we are hoping to partner with various local businesses that may be able to produce face masks as we scale, with an aim of supporting the local economy while we strive to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19 in the DC area. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. We hope that you can join us in this grassroots effort to help protect our beloved DC!

*Please note: any funds not used to procure materials, pay for services from local DC businesses who produce the masks, and deliver masks (at no-cost to the receiving institutions/organizations) will be donated to local DC food banks.