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Paul, Michele, Beckett and Buster Bolger of Elmwood Park pose for a photo in Humboldt Park as temperatures reached 80 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Chicago while cases of Coronavirus in Illinois continue to rise on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

CHICAGO — The city is hosting a massive donation drive for handmade, cloth masks to help people in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Chicagoans are being asked to make and donate cloth masks, which will then be distributed to homeless shelters, longterm care facilities and other organizations helping vulnerable people in the city during the pandemic, according to a press release. The drive will run April 25-May 16.

The masks will be used to prevent the spread of coronavirus in those facilities.

“The COVID-19 crisis has been hard on all of us, but it’s shown the impact we all have on each other — strangers and friends alike. We are all in this together and donation drive like this represent Chicago at its finest, as we respond to a crisis in unison and keep our most vulnerable residents safe,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in the press release. “The more we do for each other, the faster we’ll get through this crisis … .”

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended people use cloth face coverings in public to prevent spreading coronavirus, as people can have it and transmit it to others without knowing and without showing symptoms.

How To Participate

Here’s the CDC’s guide for making sew and no-sew face coverings with anything from bandannas to old T-shirts.

Once the masks are made, you should put them in a clear, sealable plastic bag, according to the city. When dropping off your masks, they should be put in a clean, closed box or bag and you should wear a mask and gloves and indicate how many masks you’re donating.

Masks can be donated to various aldermanic offices 10 .am.-2 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays starting April 25. The drive ends May 16.

Here are the dropoff locations:

  • 1st Ward Office: 1958 N. Milwaukee Ave.
  • 4th Ward Office: 435 E. 35th St.
  • 5th Ward Office: 2325 E. 71st St.
  • 12th Ward Office: 2458 W. 38th St.
  • 29th Ward Office: 6272 W. North Ave.
  • 31st Ward Office: 4605 W. Diversey Ave.
  • 32nd Ward Office: 2657 N. Clybourn Ave.
  • 33rd Ward Office: 3001 Irving Park Road
  • 39th Ward Office: 4200 W. Lawrence Ave.
  • 41st Ward Office: 7442 N. Harlem Ave.
  • 44th Ward Office: 3223 N. Sheffield Ave.

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