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About us

Our Mission

The mission of the Boston Area Mask Initiative is to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep vulnerable populations in the Boston area safe by providing handmade fabric masks to those in need.
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Our Story

In response to the lack of access to PPE faced by frontline workers and at-risk groups at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, BAMI founder, Stephanie Cave, consulted with Harvard Medical School about the efficacy of cloth masks in March of 2020.  After receiving validation that fabric face masks would be an important part of our city's response to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Boston Area Mask Initiative (BAMI) community was formed.
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Since then, BAMI has provided nearly 45,000 masks free of charge to hundreds of organizations from hospitals to nursing homes, food pantries, homeless shelters, and a range of other groups serving Boston’s most vulnerable populations.

How We Operate

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  • Organizations in need request masks
  • BAMI reviews the mask request and fulfills approved requests within 1-2 weeks. We prioritize requests from organizations with an immediate need and high usability of masks, as well as groups serving the most vulnerable and under-resourced populations.
  • Meanwhile, Maker Spaces such as CIC Boston, Artisan’s Asylum, and Boston Makers laser cut fabric for volunteer Makers (sewists). These are provided to volunteers along with pre-cut elastic in easy-to-use mask-making kits.
  • Makers sew masks from the safety and comfort of their own homes. Makers can use their own supplies or BAMI-provided mask-making kits.
  •  When the masks are completed, Makers drop off them off at our community dropoff locations: Gather Here (Cambridge), Stitch House (Dorchester), Sullivan’s Pharmacy (Roslindale) or at BAMI headquarters in Dorchester.
    • If Makers are not able to pick up their mask-making kits or drop off their completed masks, we send Runners to the rescue! Runners are wonderful volunteers who help sustain our mission by transporting mask-making kits and completed masks to and from Makers, contact-free.

Get Involved

Want to join our movement? There are lots of ways you can get involved to get PPE into the hands of those who need it most and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Boston’s most vulnerable communities.

See BAMI At Work