A group of Independence High school students set out to make a difference during the COVID-19 crisis by raising money to purchase 10,000 masks.
“We have so many people in Nashville who are struggling just to get by right now” shares Ben Beard. “I just knew when I heard about the mandatory mask mandates that although probably a necessary measure to keep everyone healthy and protect those at high risk in densely populated areas like Nashville, that purchasing masks to wear everywhere they go was going to put a lot of stress on people who were already struggling.”
Benjamin Beard and Ty Anderson (who were junior when COVID-19 hit the middle Tennessee area), like so many of their friends and classmates who were making college plans, had their lives turned upside down when COVID struck.
“We were all working hard on our academics, looking for ways to volunteer in our communities and have well-rounded college resumes. Then everything came to a halt,” Ben shares. But adversity actually spurred Ben on. “I was actively searching for ways that I really could have an impact and give back to our community. Not just play the game of looking good for college. Sometimes it’s hard at our age to really make a difference. We all want to, but it just does not seem like the opportunity is there. When the coronavirus and the mask mandate hit, I knew this was a way I could mobilize fellow students to make a big impact. I found the organization Mask Now TN that was distributing masks to underprivileged populations and essential workers, and their need for donations was great.
Ben and Ty, both selected as Williamson County EIC students, led the charge motivating and equipping fellow high schoolers at Independence High School and within the Franklin neighborhood of Westhaven to gather donations. The fundraising effort began by creating online fliers on social media pages. Then they were able to set up collection boxes at the Westhaven clubhouse.
“Ben and I are interning with U.S. Senate candidate this summer, and we learned such valuable skills about making phone calls and meeting people face to face. We were able to share what we learned with other students and equip them with the skills to go out and get their community organized to make a difference,’’ Ty shares. “Everyone we reached out to in Williamson County, especially in Westhaven were just so generous. We cannot thank them enough.”
The mask campaign became such a large undertaking, soon fellow senior Siler Blackburn and Ben’s brother, sophomore Andrew Beard joined to form the core team driving the campaign. Beard says, the effort took about a month and a half to organize with Mask Now TN but once they began accepting donations, it was close to three weeks before they hit their goal.
“Coronavirus is having such a monumental effect on so many of my friends and classmates. I am so really proud of my brother for getting this all rolling,” Andrew shares. “Getting our eyes off of our own problems and finding a way to help others who have just had it so much harder than we have through this whole crisis has been so empowering for us as students.”
In talking about obstacles of the fundraiser, Anderson states, “I think the biggest obstacle we faced was building trust with people, once we pivoted to monetary donations so we could buy masks wholesale, we had to make sure people knew we weren’t just going to take their money. We did that by making an official email and promising to send updates on the purchase and delivery of the masks.”
The students feel as if the fundraiser was a great adventure but at times they felt overwhelmed.
“I learned though it may seem daunting at first, it is not really that hard to start a project like this as a teenager,” Beard shares. “Once you get over the hump of starting out, if you have a good idea that will genuinely help your community, people will get behind you and everything else will fall into place.” Siler may have said it best, “The world might be different right now. But we can still work to make it a better place.”
Beard plans to major in Finance and is trying to decide between Tulane, Miami, or Boulder. Anderson plans to major in Engineering with his top picks UT Austin, and the Air Force Academy.
