giving ‹‹ INSPIRING PEOPLE
REBECCA ROGERS W UP JARVISVILLE HOLLER, HARRISON COUNTY
Deployed for Good The West Virginia Mask Army meets a dire need. facedwith a viral pandemic and a shortage of proper personal protective equipment, five women sprang into action. Within their first 39 days of operation, the West Virginia Mask Army (WVMA), a pop-up nonprofit run fully by volunteers, distributed 30,179 masks to 158 medical facilities and first responders in 33 counties throughout the state. It all began on March 20, when Dr. Suzanne Strait, an anatomy professor at Marshall University, started a Facebook group. She then reached out to Dr. Rose Ayoob and Patricia Rogers looking for ideas for materials to make masks. A day later, after the three women experimented with various materials and prototypes, the “Patricia Mask” was born. Made from material extracted from a furnace filter rated to filter viruses, the prototype was named by Dr. Strait after its designer. Hillary Brewster, a Marshall English professor, joined as the group’s chief financial officer, and fundraising for materials began. Anna Strait rounded out the team of founding members who shared administrative tasks of the operation. On March 23, the group made its first delivery: 300 masks to West Virginia Physicians of Charleston. Jane and Jerry Morse coordinated the WVMA’s original hub at First United Methodist Church in Huntington, which began mass production of the Patricia Mask on March 21. The organization’s second hub opened two days later in Charleston, coordinated by Sarah Stone. Potomac Highlands, where Kimberly Musser had spearheaded a group of cotton mask makers, converted to the WVMA pattern and materials. Within four weeks, WVMA had additional hubs in Clay, Philippi, Fayetteville, and Tyler and Boone counties, coordinated by Renee Moore, Virginia Shimek, Geoff Elliot, Teresa Jackson, and Carol June respectively. Nine different Lowe’s locations donated filters or sold them at cost for this cause. Faced with the nation’s elastic shortage, and after getting highly creative in the use of different materials for ear loops, Dr. Strait found a source of bulk elastic from a
The View from Their Front Porch One couple’s view of ways life improved a little when it slowed down. As the stay-at-home order lengthened , Senator Joe Manchin put out a call for inspirational stories he called #WVStrong. He read those stories in short, uplifting videos on his Facebook page. On May 2, he read an email he’d received from Jerry and June Hicks. The View From Our Front Porch We are an elderly couple (late 70s) and avid porch sitters. Cold, hot, chilly, rainy days, we sit. The COVID-19 quarantine has opened a window into our neighborhood. The majority of our neighbors were always busy working or taking their children to activities. We were just the old couple on their porch. How life has changed. Couples walking and talking, parents riding bikes or playing catch with the kids, or fishing poles in hand and headed to the neighborhood lake. We have come to know the children’s and the dogs’ names, big and small. Each usually takes the time for a wave and quick hello or stopped to chat awhile. They have given us phone numbers or said “call if you need anything.” We have been a witness to kindness, laughter, and love. They have taken the time to make us feel special and a part of their daily lives. — Jerry & June Hicks
West Virginia native living in New York. The WVMA’s medical team, led by Dr. Ayoob, managed distribution of the masks to medical facilities and first responders, getting the masks to the places that were in most immediate need. Requests from facilities were filled regardless of ability to pay for materials at cost. As volunteers came out of the woodwork and donations poured in, United Way River Cities offered grant support as well as volunteer coordination from Brent Sturm. WVMA administrators received support from Senator Joe Manchin and his chief of staff, Mara Boggs, and began collaboration with the West Virginia National Guard. They continually explored alternative materials and additional prototypes, seeking to do the most good for the greatest number of people with the best materials available. Having started with pipe cleaners and twist ties for nose pieces, retired physician Dr. Ernie Tonski developed and hand-cut aluminum nose pieces. Dave Timmons of Timmons Fabrications in Raleigh, North Carolina, then produced and donated 10,000 aluminum nose pieces as production continued. This is a story of true collaboration. In the face of global crisis, hordes of volunteers from diverse walks of life came together in support of a singular cause. From Appalachian natives to New Yorkers, from Beer Chuggin’ founders to pillars of the recovery community, from green and white to blue and gold, members across medical communities, churches and church-goers of a variety of denominations, and bipartisan political supporters came together as one. We are West Virginia Strong!
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