This isn’t over yet … helping each other through

As a nurse with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Jill Randolph had been working from home for over 18 years, so when Covid-19 first hit her life didn’t look too much different. Yes, her 9 year-old twin boys would now be attending school virtually, but that seemed a small sacrifice in light of all that was happening in the world. As the pandemic took hold though, Jill found herself looking for a meaningful way to help. An avid crafter (crochet is her favorite), when patterns for masks started appearing on the internet Jill dusted off her sewing machine and began making masks. She started by sending them to family, spread out across the country. “I needed a distraction when we didn’t know which way the world was going,” she reflected, “sewing over and over was almost meditative for me, and I felt I was doing my small part to help keep people safe.”

Once her family was covered, Jill continued donating masks to organizations where she felt her work could have a real impact. Upon learning that her fellow Cresthaven Academy Charter School parent, Julienne Cherry, had joined Summit Medical Group Foundation (SMGF) as the Executive Director, the two moms got to talking, like moms do, and a connection was made. “I really value that Anthem helps promote employee volunteerism, offering employees time off to give back to the community. So it was great to hear that Summit Health [formerly Summit Medical Group] is similarly committed to helping underserved communities, with every employee getting a full paid day to volunteer with the Foundation,” noted Jill. Soon Jill was making masks for SMGF to distribute to clients coming for its free diabetes, hypertension and obesity screenings and education, as well as free Covid-19 testing, at food pantries throughout northern NJ. “We have been boots on the ground since Covid-19 began,” stated Cherry, “our clients are low-income, food insecure Black/African American and Latino adults. They are the most at risk for severe complications and death from Covid-19, yet they have the least resources to protect themselves from it. Being able to hand someone a mask they can reuse over and over – it means a lot.”

Jill has donated nearly 150 masks to SMGF and is still busy making masks for SMGF. “This isn’t over yet,” she shared, “and if everyone can do just a little something to help someone else make it through, we will all be a lot better off.”