How Vietnamese Nail Salons Donated Over 100,000 Masks in Alabama

“This pandemic happened so fast. I could see how our healthcare workers were not prepared for it. The people working in the hospitals, the nursing homes, the cancer clinics — they needed help. I knew we had a responsibility in this fight against the Coronavirus.

“But I’m not a doctor or a nurse. I cannot go to the frontlines to fight. Instead, I can show that we care for them.

“When I had to close my nail salon, to help mitigate the spread of the virus, I donated my stocks of protective equipment to the nearest hospital. All I had were a few hundred masks and eight boxes of gloves. Other Vietnamese nail salon owners thought the same — but we needed more.

“With our businesses closed, we had time on our hands. We used that spare time to make fabric masks. I also started to call friends from other cities and states, asking them to donate and make masks too.

“They answered my call for help and, because they did, we were able to donate more than 100,000 masks. If we tried to do it alone, we would never have reached that number. It was a true community effort.

“After more than two months, our local economy has been opened up. We’re still trying our best to make masks and donate more, but we don’t have as much time.

“No one wanted this pandemic to happen. I hope that instead of turning to hatred or racism, we can all come together as a community to defeat this virus. Hate will not defeat it. And until we find a cure, all we can do, just like in any disaster, is share, show love, and respect one another.”