A Mayor IN NE Puts out a Call For Help and the Town Delivered

Only in New England.  There is a lot of news about a shortage of PPE, Personal Protective Equipment for doctors and nurses, and front-line workers.  Many communities and states have ordered that all residents must wear face masks when running errands and being outside.  With a shortage of face masks nationwide, how do you get your community to comply?  According to CNN.com, one Massachusetts Mayor, Paul Brodeur of Melrose put out a call for help and his community delivered HUGE.

The town of Melrose, Massachusetts was swarmed with volunteers outfitted in yellow vests distributing masks to the community of 28,000.  Mayor Brodeur told CNN.com “The speed at which people stepped forward and the diversity of the folks was humbling. There were moms and dads with the families, older residents, and everyone in between.”  Every resident was delivered a bag containing 4 or 5 masks including a printout on how to wear and care for each mask.  Just to make sure operations went safely, all volunteers were temperature checked before hitting the road.  The volunteers wore masks and gloves while out and about making the deliveries.  In addition to delivering the much-needed masks, the visits were a point of social contact that let residents know the community was thinking of them.

One volunteer, Samantha Block, took to the streets to deliver the masks with her 6-year-old son, Levon, and her 3-year-old daughter, Scarlett toting their wagon and walking over four miles to make the deliveries.  She told CNN.com “It took us a little over two hours.  We walked over four miles, but the kids didn’t complain at all… We went home tired but happy.”  I’m sure it’s an adventure the kids will remember for a lifetime and it’s a wonderful lesson in community service.