NEWS

Roughly two months ago, individual members of the North Carolina Veterans Affairs Commission sent out requests for fabric masks across the state. The commissioners were seeking to provide service-themed reusable cloth masks for the veterans who reside at the state veterans’ homes in Fayetteville, Salisbury, Black Mountain, and Kinston. More than 400 Veterans of the 5 branches of service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) live at the homes.

The response has been amazing. Slightly more than a month into the effort, more than 1000 masks had been received. They were sorted and personally delivered to each home. Each delivery contained a service-specific themed mask for every Veteran. Additionally, there were 100 patriotic masks, and roughly 25 generic masks. All of these masks have been donated by volunteers. The even better news was that the masks kept coming.

By mid-June, another 1000 masks had been hand-made for the Veterans in the North Carolina Homes. These masks were sorted, and this time they were mailed to all 4 N.C. State Veterans Homes. Like the first delivery, the boxes included a service-specific mask for each veteran and more than 130 patriotic masks at each home.

Masks makers came from around the state, and beyond. The mask makers are dedicated citizens, veterans, spouses of veterans, and even an active duty family. The long-distance award goes to members of the San Diego Mask Makers group. Thus far, 4 sets of masks have been received from these volunteers in California.

 

At this time, we are leaving the request for masks open. As new masks are received, they will be sorted and prepared for the next delivery. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this effort, or gets involved in the future.