San Diego Church Retrofits, Delivers 263K Much-Needed N95 Masks

On Monday, May 11, 2020, the Rock Church delivered 263,000 N95 masks to San Diego’s Office of Emergency Services. These respirators will be placed in the County of San Diego’s Medical Operations Center’s warehouse for use by health care workers throughout San Diego County.

The Rock Church began retrofitting 300,000 N95 masks on March 30 when the County of San Diego’s Medical Operations Center asked for assistance with their supply of N95 respirators that were beyond their manufacturer’s date. Over the past six weeks, 4,284 San Diego volunteers served in three-hour time shifts for a total of 12,852 hours. The project’s estimated savings is $191,238 to the county (based off hourly median wage of $14.88). The volunteers helped to replace the elastic with new bands to secure the N95 masks. The replacement elastic was provided by the County of San Diego’s Medical Operations Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved the use of N95 respirators that are beyond the manufacturer’s recommended date when they are not physically damaged during this pandemic. The bands that secure the respirator on the health care worker have failed. However, the respirator is still fully functional and meets CDC requirements for usage.

“As we’re continuing the fight against this aggressive virus, protective equipment is as important as ever,” said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “The volunteers at the Rock Church are rolling up their sleeves and helping our men and women on the front lines save lives.”

The retrofitting of the 300,000 N95 masks is valued at $1.2 million. Each mask costs $1 to purchase and 7 cents to fix each mask that is damaged. There is currently a 300-400% inflation with N95 masks averaging $3-$4 per mask or more.

Supervisor Greg Cox shares, “My thanks to the Rock Church and its volunteers for fixing 300,000 masks that will be given to the county to help us fight this pandemic. The Rock Church rocks!”

There are still 44,000 masks that need the elastic replaced to complete the 300,000 N95 mask project along with several other volunteer opportunities. The volunteer projects are open to community members. For those interested in volunteering, the details for each project can be found at sdrock.com/covid or by texting COVID to 52525. Volunteers from several different churches and businesses throughout San Diego including Aloha Church, Beach Chapel, Calvary Chapel, Grace Church Oceanside, Horizon North County, North Coast Church, Torrey Pines Church, AT&T San Diego, Top Notch Remodeling and Design and Orange Theory San Diego have partnered with us for this project.

Miles McPherson shares the motivation behind why the Rock Church mobilizes volunteers for efforts such as this: “Jesus did not simply sit in the synagogue and wait for people to come to Him. He went to them. He also asked a very simple question. He said, ‘What can I do for you?’ This is a simple and powerful thing to do. Just ask how you can help.”

McPherson and the leaders of the Rock Church started the Do Something Church as part of the Rock Church’s initiatives in 2009 when they asked the mayor of San Diego and other city leaders how the Rock Church could best serve the city. It came at a time when recession had forced budget cuts and many projects were left undone. The result was thousands of volunteers being mobilized to serve the city of San Diego. It grew to Miles and Rock ministry leaders training others through the Do Something Church how to establish similar community partnerships in their cities.

McPherson, senior pastor and founder of the Rock Church, shares, “Being a Do Something Church® isn’t complex; it simply requires decision and action. It asks you to count how many homeless people, prostitutes, kids in foster care, and elderly in convalescent homes are there in your community. Once you count to identify the problems and walk to be with the hurting in your community, the key is not to tell them what they need. There is a much simpler and more powerful thing to do. Just ask how you can help. Make the choice today to demonstrate God’s love in practical ways that address the real needs of your community.”

Over the past 10 years, the Rock Church volunteers have completed more than an estimated 2.76 million hours in community outreach programs. To date, the estimated worth of the Rock Your City volunteers’ efforts is $48,804,553. In 2019 alone, Rock Church contributed more than 314,181 hours of community service through outreach events. The unprecedented service hours given to the community that surrounds the Rock Church, along with service project assistance to the city’s mayor and leadership, lends the expertise needed to teach others how to implement the “Do Something” culture.