A local woman has been hard at work over the past few months making face masks and raising money to support food banks in the community. In an initiative she calls the Mouth 2 Mouth Project, Debbie Amirault has been making masks to keep the community safe from COVID-19, while also raising money to provide access to food for people in need. She decided to sell the masks for $2 each to make sure that they are affordable to anyone in the community, regardless of their income. She also decided to donate all the proceeds to local food banks. As soon as Debbie posted on the Kemptville Community Bulletin Board on Facebook, she saw an outpouring of people both wanting masks and volunteering to donate material. “Somebody bought material from the local fabric store,” she says. “The community support has been amazing.”
With all the donated material, Debbie has been able to make and sell over 200 masks, raising $500 for the Salvation Army food bank. She was able to raise the money more quickly than expected because many people donated more than $2 to the cause. “People ordering are feeling like they are also giving back to the community,” she says.
Debbie presented the cheque to Calvin Wong of the Salvation Army last week. Calvin says this initiative not only supports their food bank, but also allows many of their clients to obtain the now mandatory masks at an affordable price. “It’s phenomenal,” he says.
The Mouth 2 Mouth Project has been very rewarding for Debbie so far. Mask-making has become her full-time job, and it doesn’t look like orders are going to dry up any time soon. “I have orders for at least 200 more,” she says.
Debbie is also very appreciative of her husband, Mike Amirault, who has supported her through many long days filling orders. “I couldn’t do it without his support and all the support from the community,” she says.
She is well on her way to raising another $500, which will be donated to the House of Lazarus food bank. She is still taking orders, but is asking for patience, as she currently has a bit of a backlog. “I am working to fill your orders as quickly as I can,” she wrote on the Kemptville Community Bulletin Board. “Loving this project, and loving my community.”
