Special to the Enterprise

Thanks to the initiative of a school nurse, Mercedes Independent School District recently received 6,840 protective masks to give to students and employees compliments of Ford Motor Company. 

Shirley Vogel, nurse at Mercedes Academic Academy, submitted the mask request to the Ford Fund division in December after she saw a colleague at a grocery store wearing a mask with a Ford logo on it. 

“I asked where she got her mask, and she said Ford gave them to her school,” Vogel said. “I asked the superintendent if I could request some for our district. She said, ‘Go for it.’” 

Vogel contacted the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., and was given the website address for the application. 

“I wrote a letter that explained we were an economically disadvantaged school district and many of our students don’t have the money to buy masks. I told them we would be grateful for anything they 

could give us,” Vogel said. 

The nurse did not hear back from Ford in January, so she assumed her district was not selected. Then in February she was notified of a shipment of Ford boxes. 

“We were totally in shock. We didn’t just receive enough for the students but enough for the staff,” Vogel said. “So many kids come in and say, ‘I don’t have a mask.’ Masks go fast, so this was a blessing for everyone.” 

“We are very grateful to Ford Motor Company for the generous donation and to Mrs. Vogel for submitting the request,” said Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola, M.Ed. “The safety of our students is our top priority, and these masks will help our students, employees and families stay safer during this time of COVID-19.”

The preventive masks are part of Ford’s “Finish Strong” campaign, which is an effort to help save lives until the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely distributed.

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