HSFL has recently launched our very own Kickstarter! The proceeds will help out hospitals along with other local facilities that are in need of homemade face masks.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amoon/high-schoolers-for-front-liners/description
Due to vast shortages in medical equipment, lots of facilities need protective gear, not just in Maryland but across the nation as well. And after learning that some frontline responders are sewing their own masks, I thought students in our local area could contribute in some way to the medical community.
We are already 8 weeks in and we have around 20 students who are helping out with the project. Each student has their own designated role in this project and is all essential to the program. We drop off masks every two weeks and typically make around 150-200 masks and are currently delivering to two different hospitals.
Unfortunately, as the project has ramped up and as more facilities are contacting us, we are in need of more money to buy the necessary materials and scale up our project as much as possible.
The initial money donated to us would go entirely to paying for the materials that we need like fabric, elastic, and sewing machines. In the future, we hope to also pay sewers, those who would cut materials, and pay drivers.
To emphasize, there is ZERO profit coming to me, it is all to help as many frontline responders as we can with the strength of numbers.
If you would like to donate some of your money, we would be so grateful for your support. Even small donations are welcomed because they all come together to make a huge collective impact! It would truly be an act of kindness during these difficult times.
To hospitals or ANY other local facilities in need, if you would like for us to donate some of our face masks, please contact me so I can first show you photos of what our masks look like, know how many you need, who can organize a way to drop off masks. As of right now, The Doctor’s Community Hospital and the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System have been in contact with us.
If you are a high school student or would like to donate a bit of your time to make these masks, please reach out to me. We typically give each student a two-week window to get as many masks done as possible, then pick them up at their house.
If you are a student, who would still like to help but can’t sew, there are a number of other jobs that we still need volunteers for. We need drivers or those who would pick the masks that our volunteers make
We are also having difficulty finding those who would be willing to cut the fabric into the necessary sizes. Our Online Shoppers would need to be willing to buy materials online via the money collected or donated. Volunteers can even call hospitals and local facilities to ask if they would like masks if supremely beneficial.
Where would the money go? From 0-1000$ money would be allocated to buying materials like fabric, elastic, and sewing machines to make their own masks sufficiently. Our goal is to reach up to 5,000 dollars. From 1000-5000$ we would like to slowly begin hiring people to help out with the project. We would be paid at a rate that is most fair given the financial resources that are available to us.
We’d use this money to hire additional drivers, sewers, or other professionals or those who’d be willing to volunteer large chunks of time on a regular basis. We hope that this may be a lifeline for any adults who may suddenly find themselves without work or someone who potentially wants to help their families make extra money with a part-time job.
I really hope that this project will grow to help as many frontline responders as possible. I know we are looking to do our very best during this time but I also know that so many people want to give back in some capacity to the medical community and contribute to the battle against COVID-19.
Before I conclude, I just want to thank all the volunteers for every single one of the volunteers that we have. To Andrea, Andrew, Kaitlyn, Eugene, Michelle, Jessica, Olivia, Faith, Yucheng, Alexander, Joanne, Matthew, Austin, thank you for your generosity!
Please consider donating your time or money to our cause. Thank you for your time!
Written by Allison Moon
May 24h, 2020