Spring of Hope
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the whole world had to adapt which meant we did, too. We decided to put our fundraising on pause and instead focus on helping people who needed it. Our team assembled and once we learned that frontline workers needed personal protective equipment, we got straight to work. Over 250 people including team members and other friends made PPE around the clock, sewing masks (over 4,600), producing face shields (almost 3,000), and delivering wipes, gloves, scrub caps, and more to nurses, doctors, homeless shelters, law enforcement, physical therapists, hospice workers, cancer patients, and other vulnerable populations.
What did being part of the "Spring of Hope"
mean to you?
JEN COLLINS
Assembling face shields as part of “Spring of Hope” has given me a sense of purpose and made me feel not completely useless during a very chaotic time in everyone’s lives. I’m not a person that likes to be idly sitting around. Helping to create protective equipment for front line workers made me feel like I was actively contributing. What started out as a way to give back to an amazing organization that treated and cared for my husband during his cancer battle has turned into so much more, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Justin Luk
Other than giving me a much more productive and meaningful way of spending my time than playing video games, being part of the “Spring of Hope” has given me a special opportunity to implement skills that I’ve learned in robotics such as sourcing designs for computer aided design and 3D printing, prototyping, and eventually producing face shields with incredible people on the team, many of whom I’ve gotten to know through this program. It was amazing to know that many, including healthcare workers on the front lines, were using these face shields and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to make a difference in the fight against COVID-19.
Lisa Lopez
To be a very small cog in a grass roots effort that is so much bigger than oneself is empowering, underscoring that even one individual, acting in concert with many other individuals both friends and strangers, can have a huge impact. I’ve heard these words spoken many times. but to actually be part of it is a very powerful emotional experience.
Sarah ALLEN Andrews
I felt powerless and fearful for my family here in MA and in Brooklyn, NY. I worried for my relatives in England and in Canada, and for my co-workers in Los Angeles. I was heartbroken reading the news and seeing images of whole communities being ravaged, and healthcare workers literally risking their lives to save others. I felt despair, anger, fear, sadness, and a lot of anxiety. "Spring of Hope" was this little spark that touched my heart. Here was something I could do, on a very small scale that, combined with other team member efforts, might make a difference. I started to see that take shape - and very quickly! We've made a significant difference in many people's lives, and that is truly remarkable. The ingenuity, collaboration, commitment, compassion, and humanity of Team Tara truly epitomizes hope - which is exactly what we all need right now.