Newtown Rotary Club President David Freedman, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, Emergency Communications Director Maureen Will, Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue Chief Bill Halstead, and Newtown Police Officer Jason Flynn staged themselves safely in front the Emergency Operations Center located at Fairfield Hills, Saturday, May 2, for the presentation of a thousand surgical face masks.

The large donation of masks was made possible through the efforts of a Rotarian from the East Hampton district, said Freedman, on April 29. That Rotarian’s business connections have made it possible for the masks to be flown in from overseas, arriving at JFK airport in New York late last week.

“Our Rotary Club felt there was a way to help in some form or fashion as much as we could,” said Freedman, “without just writing a check. When we started hearing that responders and hospital workers were wearing masks multiple days, the East Hampton member knew he had the ability to get masks to responders in need — so that’s what we did.”

In talking with leaders of the various emergency response teams in Newtown, the local Rotary Club was able to ascertain the needs in Newtown, and become eligible to receive the masks to distribute locally.

“Maureen Will, the Emergency Communications director, said they’d need at least a couple hundred,” Freedman said, but when he approached the Rotary board, they realized it would be possible for them to request 2,000 of the masks and saw that having the masks could alleviate future demands.

“We are very grateful for the donation from Rotary,” said Will on Monday, May 4. “As reopening slowly begins it will still be important to have the masks for our responders for now and in the future. We inventoried them on Saturday morning and they are waiting for the responders as needed. The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze us, and we will continue to do everything we can to keep our community and responders safe.”

Half of those masks received were awarded to the local departments on Saturday, with Will designated to act as the central distribution coordinator. The other 1,000, Freedman said, “are in our back pocket in case there are other needs as we move forward. Then we can help Social Services to continue helping to distribute.

Sadly,” he continued, “it sounds like we’ll be needing masks for quite some time.”

The District Rotary Club has asked all clubs to make a donation through the Rotary International Rossi Family Foundation to offset costs of the masks, as well as to support other COVID-19 related efforts, Freedman said.