Rural Resources, a nonprofit organization, is distributing masks to residents at 3:30 p.m. today at the Pioneer Center at 240 SE Dexter St.

Melissa Johnson, Rural Resources lead case manager, said mask distributions will be done drive-thru style until 5:30 p.m. Each person will receive two masks. 

Everyone is eligible for masks, no questions asked, she said. People who want a mask but cannot show up to the distribution can call Rural Resources at (509) 715-0358 or email [email protected]. They will mail masks out to those people.

“We’ve really just tried to be flexible with various communities,” Johnson said.  

Rural Resources have held other distribution events, she said. They have distributed 150 masks during slow events and 500 during busy ones. 

Rural Resources was approached by the Whitman County Department of Emergency Management to help distribute 10,000 masks, Johnson said. The department was supplied with several thousand masks by Washington and tasked with distributing them throughout Whitman County. 

Agencies such as the Community Action Center and the Council of Aging also received masks from the Whitman County Department of Emergency Management to distribute, she said. 

Johnson said Rural Resources has worked hard to distribute the 10,000 masks they received to anyone who needs one. 

“We’re just happy … to help the community however we can,” she said.