Boulder County Volunteers Spend 6,000 Hours Making 19,320 Masks

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — If hard times bring out people's true colors, then Boulder County residents haven't just shown brilliant colors, but patterns and excellent stitching too — in the form of masks.

Dozens of people from all over the county came together to form the Boulder County Mask Project, which has delivered more than 19,300 homemade masks to those who need them most, organizers said.

More than 80 people spent over 6,400 hours making masks for people of all ages. If the creators had been paid hourly, the value of their time would've been nearly $190,000, organizers said. Add on their donated supplies and those from local Boulder fabric company eQuilter, and more than $237,000 was contributed.

The mask donations began March 21, and since then, more than 70 local organizations have benefitted, organizers said.

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As requests have slowed this fall, many mask makers have returned to work or refocused their free time on other pursuits, but are ready to plug in their sewing machines again if the need increases during the winter, organizers said.

The project was created by Volunteer Engagement and Donations Management staff under Boulder County Emergency Operations, officials said.

>> View a list of organizations who have received the masks, or learn about volunteerism here.