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News & Announcements

Join the LWR Face Mask Challenge

June 17, 2020

The Mission Committee invites you to assist the LWR (Lutheran World Relief) program to provide face masks for vulnerable communities. This program began soon after the COVID-19 health emergency became a critical worldwide threat. LWR hopes to receive 150,000 face masks and at this time they now need only 50,000 to reach that total number. Volunteers, friends, and church members throughout the country have made masks or pledged to send a specific number for this international project.

Our joint project with LWR to assemble personal care kits again in 2020 had to be cancelled. Vicky Whetstone, Salem Lutheran Church and our LWR contact person, has helped provide information for this project. All of the sewing can be done at home. You can recruit other family members, friends, or neighbors to assist in this challenge.

Register When Joining the Challenge

If you decide to join the challenge, please take a moment to register your name so we can be in touch directly:

Bring your completed bags and containers of masks to church on September 6 or September 13. Mission Committee members will collect all the masks, count them, package them, and deliver them to the LWR-IMA World Health warehouse in New Windsor before the October 1 deadline.

Challenge Directions

  • Directions and information can be found on the LWR website: https://lwr.org/masks.
  • You do not need to pledge a set number of masks.
  • You may use either elastic or the ties for the mask (as shown on the video). Elastic seems to be more available at retailers.
  • Adult sized masks are the only size that is needed–no children’s masks accepted.
  • There are many patterns available for face masks, including: How to Make a Face Mask and CDC Face Covering.
  • If you are making a quantity of masks, package them in containers or ziplock bags of 25 masks. Do not put more than 25 masks in one bag or container. Please label the number of masks in your bag and container as well. We welcome however many masks you are able to make!

The masks will be shipped with personal care kits made earlier in the year. Workers, clients, patients in vulnerable sites will all benefit from these international gifts of caring and sharing. Thank you for your support and willingness to assist in this program with LWR. You may email or call Glenda Johnson with any questions.