April 15, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“I BELIEVE IN NASHVILLE” CHARITABLE RELIEF TEAM DONATES 24,000 “I BELIEVE IN HOPE” FACE MASKS
INCLUDING 4,000 FOR NASHVILLE’S ESSENTIAL WORKERS

NASHVILLE, TN – In the midst of a national scramble to find face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the “I Believe In Nashville” charitable relief team has donated 24,000 “I Believe In Hope” face masks to the cause – including 4,000 for Metro Nashville’s essential work force.

The announcement of the free face masks for Nashville’s essential workers was made today by Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office. The masks will protect Metro Nashville employees as they work to ensure services and essential systems still run smoothly (the masks will not be used by health care workers or first responders).

“During this ongoing pandemic we are all encouraged by the outpouring of support from our community partners,” said Nashville Fire Department Director Chief William Swann. “Thank you to ‘I Believe in Nashville’ for donating 4,000 masks for Metro’s essential employees as they work to ensure Metro’s essential systems run smoothly during this challenging time. Our first responders are on the front lines, but without the support of our essential employees they would not be able to successfully do their jobs.” 

The team behind the humanitarian campaign includes Rich Egan, CEO of “I Believe In Nashville,” and his sales/distribution partners Tim Gerst, Brian Cronin, and Matt Wilson from the Nashville TN Store. 

“While we are happy to do our part in keeping people safe, we feel that the message of hope and belief is as important as the mask itself,” said Egan, the co-founder of LA-based emo/punk label Vagrant Records and co-owner of Nashville-based artist management firm Hard 8/Working Group. 

Before providing 4,000 free masks for Metro workers, the charitable team gave away 10,000 free masks on April 3, the day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people wear face masks in public spaces. After giving away 10,000 masks in 90 minutes, the group added an additional 10,000 free masks to the cause. Following the hugely successful giveaway, the team has been fielding orders from companies large and small across the country and they have made face masks available at cost for $6 each. 

“As a part of the Nashville Community, it’s been encouraging seeing all Nashvillians rally together to support each other,” said Gerst, CEO at Thinkswell/Partner at NashvilleTN Store. “Being able to give back like this is the least we can do for a city that means so much to us.”

This new campaign comes on the heels of the “I Believe In Nashville” T-shirt fundraiser in March, which raised $550,000 from the sale of “I Believe In Nashville” T-shirts to aid victims of the deadly EF-3/4 tornados that devastated middle Tennessee on March 3. Proceeds from the T-shirt campaign were distributed to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and Music City Inc.

Order the “I Believe In Hope” face masks at @ibelieveinnashville or @nashvilletn, or visit NashvilleTNStore.com and click on Face Mask. For large corporate orders, please email [email protected].