Part of our Together While Apart campaign, #MyMaskMyStory is a collection of personal accounts from individuals with deep ties to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include those who have volunteered, those who have donated, and those who have received.
Edited by Dilber Shatursun
“I think the fact that you can’t see people [is the biggest change for me]. I have family that lives up in Grants Pass, Oregon. We didn’t see them because of social distancing. We said, ‘we don’t need to take things from one city or state to another,’ so we didn’t even visit with them during this latest trip up we took!”
“There’s ten of us, altogether there are four households, but there’s ten of my family that live in San Dimas. I have a sister in Temple City, and a brother in Apple Valley, but my immediate family is 10 right here… we’re just a hop, skip, and a jump away.”
“In another way, I think a lot of families… they’ve reconnected because they’ve kind of been sheltered in, so I’m hoping, when this is all said and done, that community and families have been restructured- and there’ll just be a kinship that we haven’t seen in the United States or the world for generations.”
“We got these cloth masks from Tzu Chi, for all ten of us. You guys are the best thing that’s happened in the whole world, not just to San Dimas! I’m so appreciative of all you do, especially during these trying times right now. It’s going to be a big help because I use a mask whenever I’m in my car, roll down my window, talk with somebody, my family- we all use masks to protect others. It’s just scary the number of people that aren’t using them, and I think it’s because there’s so much stuff out there whether a mask is good for you, it’s not good for you…”
“One thing I know: I have spent the last fifty years volunteering. I have never ever come across a group like Tzu Chi, with your compassion and relief in volunteering and just jumping right in. It doesn’t surprise me that you would have a group of volunteers that would be making masks to give out to the community for free. That’s just what you guys do. You’re kind of like the guardian angels of the world, little piece of pie of every place in the world.
“I feel so blessed that I’ve had the opportunity for our paths to cross.”
Alta Skinner, a long-time community volunteer and San Dimas, CA resident, is secretary of the Mt. SAC Foundation. She also serves as the vice president of La Verne San Dimas Educational Foundation and chairperson of the Governance Committee at the McKinley Children’s Center. To see the entire #MyMaskMyStory collection, click here.
