Embrace Home Loans MA Branch Manager Answers Call for Face Masks

West Springfield, MA branch manager Heidi Leonard organizes local group that has sewn 2,000 masks for COVID-19 first responders and has raised nearly $3,000 in three weeks

News provided by

Embrace Home Loans

Apr 16, 2020, 14:48 ET

MIDDLETOWN, R.I., April 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Embrace Home Loans, a prominent mortgage lender, recognizes Heidi Leonard, the branch manager of its West Springfield, MA office, for creating a group that makes protective masks for local first responders and others in need. The group, Mask Makers of Westfield, now numbers 40 people and has sewn more than 2,000 masks so far. It has raised nearly $3,000, which the group uses to purchase new materials.

The group is donating its masks to local first responders, nursing homes, court house employees and other municipal workers.

Leonard started the group with local business owner Marie Yvon after she was approached by one of her friends, a registered nurse working on the front line treating Covid-19 patients. The nurse asked Leonard if she could make cloth masks for her and her co-workers to put over their N95 masks for extra protection.

"I put a message out on a local community forum in March and we spent the weekend starting our Facebook group," Leonard said. "In less than three weeks, the citizens of Westfield have banded together to help. Now with the Centers for Disease Control recommending that everyone wear a mask, we are doing our best to accommodate all of the requests that we receive."

"Heidi is a great example of what Embrace Home Loans stands for: Helping others in need," said Regional Executive Paul A. Laprade. "Embrace encourages all of its employees to give back and make a difference in their communities. We are very proud of Heidi's efforts."

To find out more about the group visit its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/568946293828499/.

To make a monetary donation that will be used to purchase N95 masks, visit: https://www.facebook.com/donate/654691065317021/?fundraiser_source=external_url

About Embrace Home Loans
Founded in 1983, Embrace Home Loans is a prominent mortgage lender that provides borrowers and financial institutions with an exceptional mortgage experience. Licensed in 48 states and the District of Columbia, Embrace has been recognized seven times as one of the Best Medium-sized Companies to Work for in America by Fortune and five times as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America by Inc. The company has also been recognized twelve times as one of the Best Places to Work in Rhode Island, as the Most Community Involved Company in Rhode Island, and with the Leadership Excellence Award by Providence Business News. The company is based in Middletown, Rhode Island. For more information, please visit www.embracehomeloans.com.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Henry Drennan
Strategic Vantage Marketing and Public Relations
(615) 497-8358
[email protected]

Mary McGarity
Strategic Vantage Marketing and Public Relations
(203)260-5476
[email protected]

SOURCE Embrace Home Loans