This December, our team wanted to expand our reach to send donations to other facilities for the holidays. In celebration of the Christmas spirit, I decided to reach out to several nonprofit organizations helping children across the world and local children’s centers.
I thought donating to children’s homes who do not get very many supplies outside of donations would be a great way to support the community. Especially during the flu season, the need for masks has not dissipated. While larger facilities like the Veterans Affairs Center may no longer need masks as they are funded by the government, smaller organizations and local hospitals are being left behind. I am confident that our masks will be put to good use and am thrilled to join the cause.
Our preparation for the donations began in mid-November. After contacting the Children’s Home, a children’s center in Bethesda, MD we began to resize half of our masks to fit children. Previously, our mask sizes had been 34 X 20 cm when we cut the fabric, but we had to downsize significantly for masks to fit younger children three and above. Our sewing volunteers began to experiment to correct the sizes and ensure that our masks would be able to fit younger children.
The patterns on our masks changed as well. Previously most of our colors were neutral with little pattern variation. Specific locations like the Anne Arundel County Detention Center and the Montgomery County Detention Center only accepted nude, black, or grey masks.
Hospitals were more lenient but facilities like the Veterans Affairs in Baltimore preferred plain whites, blues, and neutrals. However, to give more fun masks to the children at the orphanages we purchased fabric with brighter colors, graphics, and exciting designs. 
We also decided to change how we packed our masks. We decided we wanted our masks to be presented as individual gifts for all the children instead of our standard donation cardboard box.
To do this, we took 4-5 masks and individually wrapped them in clear plastic bags with our logo sticker on the front. We used ribbons and colorful bow ties to warp them. I also asked several team members to write holiday cards for the children along with orphanages abroad.
All in all, while the preparations took nearly one month we were able to donate our masks right before the Christmas Holiday season. I’d first like to thank all our volunteers for the month-long effort. Even though each individual prepared one fraction of the final donation – like only cutting fabric, or choosing out the designs of fabric, or sewing the masks – being able to donate the masks is an exhilarating experience itself. I am very proud of our collective effort to engage in a wonderful cause and support the children of our community.
Written by Allison Moon
December 20th, 2020