NECC public safety officer Angel Mejia wears a mask made by NECC employees.

When two Northern Essex Community College finance team members learned the college was having a difficult time acquiring masks for its public safety officers, they elected to spend their weekend making masks for the officers.

Beth Donovan and Donna Ashbrook—along with several community volunteers—sewed 50 fabric masks for public safety officers during the first weekend in April.

“We had been trying to order masks, but none could be found,” said Northern Essex Chief Deb Crafts. “Most shipments are designated for state and federal use.”

A sample of the cloth masks created by two NECC employees.

Crafts, who met Donovan and Ashbrook in a college parking lot to pick up the masks, was deeply appreciative.

“As I watched them pull away, I felt an enormous amount of gratitude and pride in the NECC community,” she said

To learn more about how Northern Essex is handling the COVID-19 virus, visit the website.