Roofing contractors do a lot of good work, and in the COVID-19 crisis, the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) is asking roofers to step up and help healthcare providers with face mask donations.

In an email sent out March 26, MRCA President Fred Horner emphasized the need contractors to donate N95 masks to hospitals and healthcare facilities. Due in part to panic shopping caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks are being bought and hoarded, resulting in hospitals running out of masks for their workers as they treat patients. It's becoming so bad that, in Texas, the attorney general recently sued an auctioneer, claiming they were price gouging face masks and other in-demand items.

"On March 24, bidding on N95 respirator masks pushed listings as high as $180 for a package of just 16 masks," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a written statement. "Auctions Unlimited owner Tim Worstell admitted to receiving warnings from both local police and the Texas Attorney General; however, he moved forward with the exorbitantly priced auctions."

In light of the face mask shortage, Horner, who is president and CEO of Advanced Industrial Roofing in Massillon, Ohio, sent a personal appeal to MRCA members to help contribute masks to emergency departments. The message is as follows:

Good Afternoon,

I’m hoping that all of you and your families are safe and well. My sister works for a large Emergency Medicine physician group who are caring for patients in over 200 Emergency Departments across the country. The doctors, nurses and healthcare providers are in great need of N95 masks. I’m putting this out to ask all of you to please check your inventory to see if you have any masks that could be spared.

These are certainly unprecedented times and any assistance given is greatly appreciated. I feel this is a great opportunity to support our healthcare providers in this time of crisis. Masks can be sent via FedEx, UPS, or USPS directly to my company and I will get them to my sister for distribution to the
healthcare providers in need.

Advanced Industrial Roofing
1330 Erie St. South
Massillon, Ohio 44646

Fred Horner
President/CEO, Advanced Industrial Roofing, Inc.
President, Midwest Roofing Contractors Association
President, Ohio Roofing Contractors Association 

Vice President Mike Pence has called on the construction industry to donate N95 masks, and to refrain from placing any new orders for face masks in the near future.