Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery County Community College students and employees continue to find ways to help the community.

Food Donations

When Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf extended the stay-at-home order and closed schools through the end of the school year, MCCC decided to donate the food in its Stock Up for Success food pantries to the community. At West Campus in Pottstown, Assistant Dean of Student Services Amy Auwaerter contacted the Pottstown School District and arranged to have the food delivered for local school children.

At Central Campus in Blue Bell, Assistant Dean of Student Programs arranged to have the items in the food pantry, including baby formula, oatmeal and more than a case of peanut butter, delivered to Manna on Main Street in Lansdale.

MCCC’s Culinary Arts Institute in Lansdale previously donated nearly 200 pounds of fresh produce, an assortment of dairy projects, eggs and more than 40 pounds of frozen bread and pastries to Manna.

Positive Messages

When MCCC’s Central Campus became a drive-through, community-based testing site for the COVID-19 virus on April 16, members of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) wanted to show their support for National Guard members and healthcare workers who were conducting the tests and the visitors being tested.  They created signs with messages such as “we are all in this together,” “we’re proud of you,” and “we love our medics.” The signs were hung around the perimeter where they could be easily seen and bring some joy to the situation.

Making Masks

Criminal Justice major Maggie Neiman of Pottstown wanted to do something to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she decided to start making masks with her sister Holly Trump. To raise money for the supplies, she created a Go Fund Me site and a Facebook page, Maggie’s Masks, to generate awareness and share information.

“We raised about $625, which doesn’t sound like much, but we can make about 700 masks for $500,” she said.

The most important thing, she said, is to use the correct type of material.

“It has to be cotton, thick cotton, to be effective,” she said. “It can’t be polyester or a blend.”

She introduced her project to her friends in the Beta Tau Lambda Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at West Campus, Katrina Bougher and Ashley Tokarsksi, who are now helping her.

So far, Neiman has made and distributed between 400 and 500 masks to the local community, nursing homes and students who need them.

“At first, I was spending about 16 hours a day making the masks, but now it has slowed down,” said Neiman, who is anticipating that it will pick up again over the summer.

In addition to the masks she makes, Neiman helps her neighbor, Kate Walsh, make a different version with elastic bands, which are donated to the Catholic Social Workers Group for distribution. She also helps a primary care physician, Dr. Robert Motley and his wife make masks, which are used at area hospitals.