Rochester’s Apache Mall donated fabric so that community volunteers could make cloth masks
On March 20, ZVMS began the process of collecting and distributing fabric masks. We connected with a local quilter, borrowed sewing machines from Rochester Public Schools, recruited and trained medical student volunteers, and donated our first set of masks to Meals on Wheels volunteers through Family Services Rochester. These early efforts were featured in a Med City Beat article (https://www.medcitybeat.com/news-blog/2020/volunteers-surgical-masks-rochester). Our efforts grew to include additional sewers and donations. We worked with the Southeast Minnesota Disaster Health Coalition to direct the masks to congregate care facilities in the region. Following the CDC’s recommendation that everyone wear masks, we joined the Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester Public Schools, and city and county staff to create a community-wide process for collecting and distributing fabric masks.
We continue to receive a few requests for masks, although not at the volume that we did in March through May now that the county and city collect and distribute masks. We were pleased to have played a role in keeping our communities safe.