HACKENSACK, N.J. — As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the state of New Jersey, many basic supplies, essential to pandemic living, have been hard to come by, limiting families’ abilities to shop and provide for loved ones. Determined to find a way to help in this tough time, Chabad of Hackensack will be hosting a Free Mask Drive-Thru on Sunday, May 1 from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. for all in need outside the congregation located at 280 Summit Avenue in the city.
“We are here to give assistance and try and help people in the community stay strong through this terrible pandemic,” said Rabbi Mendy Kaminker, director of Chabad of Hackensack. “We strive to uplift and inspire them, while providing for basic needs, and right now people need masks and a message of hope.”
Volunteers, with specially-printed masks stating, “Think Good and It Will Be Good,” will stand with members of the Jewish community and distribute the masks. The volunteers will maintain a distance from the people who drive up by placing the package with masks directly in their car’s trunk and law enforcement will be on hand to ensure safety and that social distancing guidelines are followed.
Together with the masks, Chabad of Hackensack will share a letter of hope and inspiration, with tips for how to handle quarantine, with suggestions like putting a focus on reaching out to check up and help others, mindfulness, and exercising. Kaminker also plans to donate masks to hospitals on the front lines of battle against the pandemic.
The “think good and it will be good” saying printed on volunteers’ masks is a classic Chassidic adage first said by the third Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, and his timeless message of positivity overcomes adversity is more relevant than ever demonstrating that we can come together while standing apart.
