Graham Chamber of Commerce distributes 1,000 masks to area

The Graham Chamber of Commerce along with local sponsors have been able to give out 1,000 masks since July, and will continue with 500 more on the way.

Graham Chamber of Commerce CEO Krisa De La Cruz said the masks were originally going to be distributed among the chamber member businesses, but the organization made a post on Facebook about masks being available to the community on July 21 and the first 500 were gone in two days. De La Cruz said the idea started after the chamber made mask signs for local businesses and noticed a need in the community for masks.

“I started looking into the cost to have some custom masks made and (...) meanwhile Rotary was having kind of the same thoughts which I did not know, but fortunately perfect timing I guess (that) someone happened to mention to me that Rotary (Club) had inquired about ordering masks for people and I said, ‘Well wait, we are working on that. Can we work together,’ and so through sponsorship from Rotary Club and some private donations we were able to produce 1,000, we have 500 more coming, so a total of 1,500 masks to just give out to the public,” De La Cruz said. “We offered those for free or for donation, but we don’t require a donation because we wanted to make sure that anybody who wanted or needed a mask had one.”

The next 500 masks which are coming to the chamber are sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance. De La Cruz said the organization will continue to get sponsors for masks as long as there is a need in the community for them.

For the rest of the story, see the Aug. 8 edition of The Graham Leader.