Couple Stocks Little Free Libraries with HandMade Masks During Pandemic

A couple in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is using their sewing skills to make sure neighbors have the masks they need to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

When Mark Lampereur noticed that people in his area were filling their Little Free Libraries with food and other items, he wanted to do something similar, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a great idea,'” said Lampereur, who previously built tiny libraries for his mother, sister, and girlfriend.

He even built one for his parent’s cottage. Not surprisingly, each was painted with the Packer colors.

For help with his idea, Lampereur called on his girlfriend, Carleen Lawrynk.

The two used a sewing machine to make masks and then placed them inside plastic bags that would later go into their tiny library boxes.

One day, Lampereur put half a dozen inside one of the libraries and four hours later, they were all gone.

“Anything people can do to help each other,” he said, adding, “That’s part of the reason we started the library for our neighbors.”

The initial goal of the Little Free Library nonprofit organization was to inspire a love for reading by offering neighborhoods a place to exchange books, according to its website.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has allowed library stewards to give away more than just books to people in need.

Saturday on Twitter, the nonprofit shared a photo of two people with their library that was stocked with non-perishable foods:

Stephanie D., steward of library #59411, recently converted it into a place to share food and non-perishable items. She says, "What surprised me most was how many people wanted to help but didn’t know how. This is a way they can help without having to break social distancing." pic.twitter.com/zfpJupJkQR

— Little Free Library® (@LtlFreeLibrary) April 18, 2020

“Little Free Libraries are in every state and 108 countries. Because there are so many in pretty much every part of the world, it was simple to repurpose them during the pandemic,” the Sentinel noted.

The nonprofit installed a sharing-box map on its website so library stewards can make it easier for people to find their boxes’ locations.

“This map is open to anyone offering food, household items, or crafts in a sharing box in their neighborhood,” the site read.

Generosity and care for one’s fellow man are at the heart of the nonprofit’s mission, according to Head of Media and Programming Margret Aldrich.

“There was already this infrastructure of people who were already sharing and looking out for each other in their communities. So it was very easy to transform them into boxes sharing more than books,” she concluded.