CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Residents in Champaign took part in a win-win scenario, where made masks and received rent credit.
Director of property management for Royce & Brinkmeyer, Stephanie Funkhouser, said she knew many of her residents lost their jobs because of the pandemic and were not sure how to make ends meet. So, the management team decided to step in to help.
"We just put it out there to the residents, would anybody be willing to sell masks for health care workers and get rent credit for it, so it was something that we could do that we could help them by providing this material and (allowing them to) exchange their hard work for rent," Funkhouser said.
Residents began to make hundreds of masks. One resident said she made over 150 of them.
Funkhouser said they had to start putting limits to the number of masks they can exchange for rent.
"There was a point at which we were starting to get so many from everyone that we put a cap on what we would accept from people in order to be able to serve more residents," Funkhouser said.
But even though there was a cap, residents kept making masks. In total, making over 1,000 masks for health care workers as well as the homeless community. Masks were distributed to Carle Foundation Hospital, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and C-U At Home.
C-U At Home Director Rob Dalhous III said it was a blessing to his community to receive these masks.
"It's a blessing to have groups like that in our community that care and want to serve and be a part of something bigger than themselves," Dalhous III said.
Funkhouser said she is grateful to have residents who were willing to step in to help their community and be a positive force.
"All of the credit goes to the residents who are so generous and really want to reach out and do things for this community," she said. "We've had different kinds of fundraisers over the years and they've always stepped in and just really given it 110% (and) this was no different.”
