CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Tenn. — Golfers, quilting groups and many other kinds of people came together to make around 5,000 masks over four weeks through the Fairfield Glade Protective Face Covering Project.
On Tuesday, the project handed out around 1,700 masks at a drive-thru event in Cumberland County. Officials with the project said that they were focused on giving masks to first responders first before handing masks to other people.
The event ran 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday. Officials said it will be held again once people sew more masks in about two weeks.
"It's especially important as the governor in our state lifts those mandates," Debora Boyle, an official with the project, said. "We want our 55 and up people here to feel comfortable owning a mask if they choose to wear one and go out."
She also said that golfers cut some of their T-shirts for materials, and some people brought sewing machines to make more masks.
"It's our neighbors, our own people, helping our neighbors," Boyle said. "People are saying thank you through the windows, and it's just a wonderful thing to see."