After Massachusetts schools closed in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus, 27 vocational schools joined together to donate over 13,000 masks, 140,000 gloves, and other valuable supplies to support first responders and medical professionals fighting on the front lines of the pandemic.
Kevin Farr, the executive director of Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, announced the donations Monday morning in a video. Surgical masks, N95 masks, gloves, eye shields, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and gowns were donated from the schools’ stockpiles, which normally use the supplies for career technical education programs when school is in session.
"Pretty much everything that can be donated has been donated, and I think it's a great testament to the role vocational schools play in their communities,” Farr said. “I personally want to thank the individual schools on behalf of myself and my family, because the material that was donated could help health care workers take care of someone I know."
When the building closed last month, the administration at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Danvers donated all the supplies in stockpile from their programs. Faculty and staff worked to distribute the supplies to statewide organizations that could use the equipment.
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“We have the resources to be able to help where the need is, and from everything we’ve read and everyone we’ve talked to, there is a need for more [personal protective equipment],” said Bonnie Carr, the director of workforce development and adult education at the school.
Further down the coast, Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School in Bourne donated 500 N95 masks, 75 surgical masks, 200 boxes of gloves, along with gowns and safety glasses.
“We are part of the community, and we all play a role,” said Robert Dutch, the superintendent of the school. “For us, donating these critically needed supplies represents doing our part.”
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Schools that donated supplies include:
- Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School
- Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School
- Blue Hills Regional Technical School
- Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School
- Dean Technical High School
- Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School
- Greater Lawrence Technical School
- Greater Lowell Technical High School
- Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
- Keefe Regional Technical School
- Leominster High School Center for Technical Education Innovation
- McCann Technical School
- Medford Vocational Technical High School
- Minuteman High School
- Montachusetts Regional Vocational Technical School
- Nashoba Valley Technical High School
- Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School
- Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School
- Pathfinder Vocational Technical High School
- Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School
- Somerville Public School Center for Career and Technical Education
- Tantasqua Regional and Union 61 School Districts
- Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School
- Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School
- Watertown Public Schools
- Westfield Public Schools
- Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School
Matt Berg can be reached at matthew.berg@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattberg33.