Vermont Business Magazine When the Biden Administration announced last week that 25M masks would be made available through food banks and health centers, Shelburne-based Masks4Missions realized that they might have helped plant the seed for large-scale mask distribution.
Masks4Missions is a youth-led organization formed in August 2020 to work with nonprofit organizations to provide masks to at-risk populations and encourage the general public to wear masks. Since August, the organization has given out over 100,000 masks in partnership with more than 90 nonprofits across the US. Some of those masks were distributed through Vermont Foodbank.
“We have learned a lot since the summer on how to properly work with nonprofits for mask distribution in a way that does not create more work for them and ensures that the masks are being distributed in such a way that they reach people who need and use them,” said Doug Altshuler, founder of Masks4Missions.
What started as a Vermont-focused initiative, including a week-long “celebration” of wearing masks, has evolved into a national movement. The effort has gained momentum, and Masks4Missions now works with nonprofits in all 50 states.
“Hunger in Vermont has reached unprecedented levels in the last year, with 1 in 3 people facing hunger since the start of the pandemic,” says Vermont Foodbank CEO, John Sayles. “The Foodbank was grateful to be included in the Masks4Missions initiative, which not only helped put food on the table of hungry Vermonters but also made the health and wellness of our community a priority.”
Masks4Missions offers its toolkit to enable communities and organizations across the US to find resources to provide masks to vulnerable populations and stand-up local mask days to raise awareness of the continued importance of wearing a mask for public health. The toolkit is free and can be accessed on the Masks4Missions website.
For more information, visit www.masks4missions.org/national.
About Masks4Missions
Masks4Missions (www.masks4missions.org) makes masks that protect and connect for safer lives and stronger communities. Founded by Doug Altshuler, a recent high school graduate, Masks4Missions partners with nonprofits to design, make, distribute, and sell subsidized COVID masks. Starting in Vermont in August 2020, Masks4Missions organized the first statewide mask celebration, Vermont Mask Day on October 6, 2020, and went on to partner with Vermont’s nonprofits to bring over 30,000 masks to Vermonters in 2020. Now, Masks4Missions is expanding to support mask use nationally and has already distributed over 100,000 masks across all 50 states by partnering with over 90 nonprofits and their diverse communities.
Source: Shelburne, VT (March 4, 2020)—Masks4Missions