Dane County Timebank has announced a goal to distribute 500 masks to Black, Brown, and marginalized people in the Madison area over the course of a few weeks. The first Dane County Timebank Mask Giveaway will take place this Saturday, May 30, 1-2 p.m. at Woodman’s West.
“Our staff is working to ensure an organizational-wide awareness of the need to center racial and restorative justice in our work and provide practical ways to directly address the undeniable racism that exists in our communities,” says Dane County Timebank Director Lorrie Hurckes Dwyer in a statement. “We acknowledge that as a predominantly white nonprofit organization, we have benefitted from systems of inequality and we are committed to investing in exchange coordination and project facilitation to challenge these dynamics. Through this project, our goal is to get 500 masks distributed. We’ve received 244 as of today.”
TimeBank Restorative Justice Director, and lead on the mask project, Damita Brown, brought the idea of a mask giveaway to the TimeBank’s Restorative Justice team. The aim of the project is to supply people of color and marginalized communities a free mask to help disrupt the high number of infections and deaths in these communities.
Established in 2005, Dane County Timebank is a network of nearly 3,000 individuals and organizations who exchange services and skills to build community, build capacity, and come together to help each other to build a better world. Through time banking services are exchanged to help fill resource gaps in the community. Anyone can join the TimeBank to offer their skills or services – and receive services in exchange.
