A few days ago, a small group of community members got together to see if it might be possible to find a way to get KN95 masks to people in the community who needed them and didn’t have the resources to purchase them. As recently as Tuesday, January 25, members of Governor Phil Scott’s administration said such masks were plentiful and easy to find in the state. But that is only for people with the means to purchase them.
These folks reached out to local members of the Mad River Valley Rotary Club to ask if supplying masks for community members is something that might fall within the club’s mission – and the answer was yes. Club members were generous with their time, offering advice and encouragement to make sure that the grant application process was successful.
Club officials went out of their way, once the actual grant application was submitted, to make sure the ordering process went smoothly, offering the club’s own debit card for use when it seemed that finding a local nonprofit through which to run the purchase might add days to the process.
The result is that an application officially submitted to the Rotarians, asking for up to $2,000 to purchase 1,500 adult and 750 children’s KN95 masks, was approved and the order placed early this week.
When those masks arrive, they will be distributed to the Mad River Valley libraries, the Mad River Valley Community Pantry, Neck of the Wood Childcare (for sharing with other child care organizations in The Valley) and ShareMRV which distributes meals to the community every other Saturday on Fiddlers Green.
This is a significant achievement that owes much to the responsiveness of the local Rotarians and their commitment to and understanding of the importance of getting proper face masks to everyone in our community -- regardless of their ability to purchase such masks.
Here in the Mad River Valley, we are lucky to have a Rotary club that is so responsive and nimble and willing to listen to community members about an unmet need. This is just one of the many ways the Mad River Valley Rotarians demonstrate that they talk the talk, but then they walk the walk.
Kudos Rotarians.
