In a turn of events it seems the notorious “Mask Off” rapper will be keeping his mask on. Future’s non-profit organization FreeWishes Foundation has teamed up with Atlanta Sewing Style to make custom masks for healthcare workers and hospitalized patients affected by COVID-19.
Atlanta Sewing Style is a community of over 500 local sewers and designers who will create, cut, sew, and deliver the masks to local hospitals.The new initiative was cleverly dubbed the #MaskOn Campaign, and its organizers are currently accepting donations for the cause.
In a recent interview with Complex, members of the organization have set the number of masks made by the organization — founded by Future’s sister and mother, with a team of more than 500 — at over 100,000. This all began in March, when Future and the FreeWishes Foundation announced the “Mask On” campaign upon realizing that many people lacked access to the most essential tool that could save their life — especially our healthcare professionals.
“There is so much that needs to be done during this crisis and if everyone can step up in some way, we can all get through this together as we serve our community,” Future’s mother Stephanie Jester said. “I think that our healthcare professionals are the heroes in this situation and they are risking their lives for everyone, so it is our responsibility to help protect them.”
Tia-Wilburn Anderson, Future’s sister and FreeWishes Foundation co-founder, added, “It is important to my brother, Future and I that we are of service to our community, especially during this pandemic and throughout the year. This is why our family created the foundation.”
Beyond providing relief for our medical heroes and infected patients, the FreeWishes Foundation is set to continue its journey and provide tools for essential workers too. “We’re going to give all the bus drivers from MARTA, which are the Atlanta bus drivers, masks so that they can be protected and then they’re not getting infected and exposing people who ride the bus,” said Abesi Manyando, FreeWishes’s Communications and Brand Strategist. “At first, we were thinking, could we order masks from somewhere? But there were absolutely no masks available—not the specific ones that the healthcare workers needed.”
Learn more about the generous campaign here, and remember, #MasksOn.
