SALT LAKE CITY — Within 62 hours, 10,000 volunteers claimed every mask-sewing kit available for the first week of ProjectProtect, which aims to complete 5 million medical-grade masks in five weeks for Utah’s health care workers.
Some set their alarms for 2:45 a.m. so they could register with a computer system that struggled to keep up with the volunteers eager to contribute during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ProjectProtect.health website was overwhelmed just five minutes after launch on Friday morning.
“It is an unprecedented response. There was no way to prepare for this outpouring. I think we’ve tapped into a pent-up desire to help,” said Samantha Butterworth, director of communications for the Welfare and Self-Reliance Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Each person who registered will pick up a kit on Tuesday with the materials and instructions to make 100 masks. The pickup will take place between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at five Deseret Industries locations — American Fork, Harrisville, Layton, Murray and Riverton. They will return the completed masks to the same locations on Saturday.
Those who did not or could not register for the first week are still needed. The goal is to make 5 million masks in 33 days. The undertaking will require 10,000 volunteers per week.
“We will post new slots every week for five weeks since we will need 50,000 volunteers. You will definitely get your chance to participate!” stated the project’s official Facebook group page, which is called Project Protect Utah.
“The response so far is expected because we knew how good the community was, but it’s also overwhelming. It’s staggering. It’s awesome,” said Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Intermountain Healthcare.
Intermountain Healthcare is one of the lead sponsors of ProjectProtect alongside University of Utah Health and Latter-day Saint Charities.
Michelle Porcelli registered Friday after learning about the project on Facebook. She will pick up a kit on Tuesday and make the 100 masks with her three daughters.
“They are already cut out, so this will be a breeze,” said Porcelli, who lives in Alpine. “Some of us will pin, some will sew.”
Porcelli is a school counselor at Sharon and Bonneville elementary schools in Orem, and her husband is the director of the intensive care unit at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.
“We know the value of healthy bodies and healthy minds,” she said. “Basically, we want to help others feel safe.”
Porcelli led a project to create and donate 800 masks last month.
“I was overwhelmed with how many people wanted to help,” she said. “People want to be useful. It helps them feel a sense of control along with their charitable hearts.”
Week 2 registration will begin later this week, after project leaders have a chance to evaluate Tuesday’s pickup. Those interested should visit ProjectProtect.health first, where they will find information and a link that will take them to JustServe.org to register, Butterworth said. Google Chrome is the best web browser to use while registering.
“This is an endurance race,” Butterworth said. “Five weeks from now, the news about the coronavirus might be more positive, but the need for these masks will still be there. We need volunteers to stick with us for the long haul. Some might be tired by the end.”
Utah health care workers are expected to need 50,000 to 70,000 masks per day at the height of the pandemic.
The Relief Society general presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent an email to local Relief Society leaders on Utah’s Wasatch Front on Thursday, alerting them to the project’s Friday launch.
The website kicked off at 8:30 a.m., 90 minutes before a news conference to announce it. By 8:35 a.m., the site was overwhelmed with more than 100,000 hits, Butterworth said. There were not that many volunteers on the site, but those who were there were refreshing their web browsers continually, trying to get in to register.
At 8:40 a.m., an administrator posted to the Facebook group: “Due to high interest for ProjectProtect, our registration platform is experiencing technical difficulties. We are so happy to see such excitement to register!”
“I told our tech guys, ‘Look, this is like Black Friday at Target. You have to understand they are knocking at the door until you open it up,’” Butterworth said. “It’s the combination of the intense interest and how complicated it is to build a system to sign up 50,000 volunteers.”
ProjectProtect partner teams ran multiple pilot projects. People who sewed during the pilot projects are posting their experiences and tips for using the kits to sew on the Facebook group page.
“We had the amazing opportunity to be part of the first pilot program to make 100 masks,” Kim Henson wrote on the page. “It was a fantastic experience for us! We all felt grateful to be able do something that will really help.”
The last slots available on Sunday night before registration filled were at the Harrisville Deseret Industries location. A note on the Facebook group about those openings led to them quickly disappearing.
“I’m working with 12 of the (Latter-day Saint) stakes in northern Utah to get as many as possible of those slots claimed (Brigham City, Tremonton, and Cache Valley),” Susan Selim wrote on the Facebook group page. “We’re doing one consolidated pickup for anyone in those stakes. My email inbox is receiving a new confirmation email every few minutes. Last I checked there are about 200 open spots left.”
Those spots were gone in 10 hours.