“When I saw in the news that the first responders did not have masks to shield themselves from the virus, my heart went out to them. So I decided I'll do what I can do, to enhance the power of the frontliners in their fight against coronavirus,” said Hafiza Merchant, a volunteer from Memphis, Tennessee.
Hafiza, along with over 80 I-CERV volunteers across Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, joined together for this initiative and spent hours stitching fabric masks for healthcare workers. The volunteers cut and stitched fabric, and distributed more than 2,500 masks to hospitals across the Southeast.
In Atlanta, volunteers stitched over 1,700 masks for Emory Healthcare. Sehr Abdullah serves as the I-CERV Volunteer Operations Director for Metro-Atlanta. As a recent Emory University graduate, the ability to make this donation to Emory Healthcare was particularly close to her heart. She said, "Our faith teaches us the ethic of compassion and I knew I wanted to give back to those in need in a meaningful way...The culture of Emory encourages serving others and as an Emory student as well as an I-CERV volunteer, I’m grateful to be in a position where I can help others in an impactful way."
Additionally, 800 masks were stitched by volunteers in Memphis for donations to five area hospitals including St. Francis Hospital, Methodist University Hospital, and the Memphis VA Medical Center. I-CERV has organized similar mask-making campaigns in Nashville and Knoxville, and volunteers across the region are continuing their efforts as hospitals are still requesting fabric mask donations. I-CERV volunteers also created cards, signs, and posters giving their thanks to those on the frontlines.
Zain Lokhandwala, Southeast AKYSB service board member leading Southeast I-CERV, shares his thoughts: “When we first began planning for this initiative, we hoped that we would be able to engage even a few I-CERV volunteers who wanted to serve the community at large by providing face mask covers to first responders who are so selflessly on the frontlines of this ‘war.’ After all, I-CERV is a platform unique to [the Ismaili] community to serve the community at large.”
Zain says, “Once we launched this initiative, we were elated and inspired by the outpouring of responses from the community and it has once again shown us that we are truly stronger together. It brings great happiness to know that so many of our community members came together quickly at a true time of need and the results do speak for themselves. In the end, we hope that this small contribution will play a large part in facing this pandemic.”
These are truly unprecedented times, and it is through our community that we find strength. We give our support to all of those fighting on the frontlines and applaud them for their selflessness to help keep us all safe.
This initiative was a way for the I-CERV volunteers of the Southeast region to give thanks and show their appreciation, and it will be on-going throughout this crisis.
