APPLETON (NBC 26) — The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley began distributing N95 masks to the public Wednesday in an effort by the state government to make the masks more accessible. The Wisconsin Office of Emergency Management is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs across the state of Wisconsin to get free N95 masks out to the community.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley were given 50,000 masks and will continue to distribute them each weekday while supplies last.
Community members can pick up the masks at the Boys & Girls Club of Appleton and Menasha on weekdays from 8 a.m to 3 p.m while supplies last. Each person can take a bag containing twenty masks. There are no eligibility requirements.
“We know that N95 masks are the most effective tool we have when it comes to face coverings,” said Greg Lemke-Rochon, CEO for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley. "We have a new opportunity now to be of some significant assistance as we fight the battle against COVID-19."
The state is working to distribute the masks as health officials advise that N95 masks are more effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 than cloth or surgical masks. While more effective, the masks have been more difficult to access throughout the pandemic.
"We know that many kids and families haven't had access to those, at times they've been difficult to come by, sometimes it's an economic barrier," Lemke-Rochon said. "Now that we have free access this is a much more effective way of going about protecting yourself from the virus”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley have one of the larger distribution networks in the state. Lemke-Rochon says the Clubs served upwards of 11,000 children last year and believes these masks will reach thousands of families in the Fox Cities.
“If you figure a couple of kids per family that’s about 5,000 families that we serve on an annual basis," he said. "We’re hoping to get as many masks out as we can obviously so [they will reach] several thousand families for sure.”
“We’ve used a lot of them already by giving them out to the community members," said Kelsey Fulmer, the branch director for the Boys & Girls Club of Appleton. "We set up the table last night and there’s been people coming pretty steadily throughout last night and then today already.”
Since N95 masks have been difficult to access for many, Club staff say they’re grateful to play this role in helping to stop the spread.
“The fact that we were able to acquire these masks to help those in our community and the kids that we serve, we’re very fortunate,” Fulmer said.
