Rotary members rise to the challenge of the #Covid19 pandemic to distribute 800,000 masks to first-responders and essential workers in ten cities
 
In the early morning of 29 September, a cargo ship carrying 800,000 face masks arrived at the Port of Boston. Over the course of the following 14 days, those masks were delivered to first responders, healthcare providers, and frontline workers in cities, towns, and villages across New England.
 
This is a story of service and leadership. It’s a story of how our District and Zone responded to a crisis, rallied its resources, put boots-on-the-ground to bring disparate and far-flung communities together to spread goodwill. Most importantly, it’s a story about working together and using our collective professional backgrounds through the Rotary network to make a difference.
 
 
We challenged each club to guarantee that each and every PPE received was delivered to first-responders and essential workers. We asked Rotary Zones and Districts across the country to join our cause by leveraging their own resources to deliver protection and safety to essential workers. And we challenged our Rotary corporate partners, NGO’s, and the business community, whom we connect with every day, to step up and join us in this unprecedented spirit of giving back.
 
 
This project reinforces how Rotary uses its professional backgrounds, diverse perspectives, and global connections to change the world for the better. We were able to secure extensive media exposure for Rotary, with the help of iHeart media. Our project caught the interest of Tyler Saari, an independent filmmaker in Connecticut, who owns his own production company Shutter Media, to make a documentary of the tour.