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'It's the heart of DC' | Councilmember says residents ordered masks from Africa to donate to seniors

Senior citizens living east of the Anacostia River will be getting new masks.

WASHINGTON — Even though this is such a tough time for so many people there’s still a lot of good going around.

People are doing what they can to help others in need. Especially for seniors who may be living on a fixed income. A group of seven women from in and around the District saw their elderly neighbors in need. They reached out to D.C. Councilman At-Large Robert White.

“They wanted to know, 'how can I help my neighbors?' and that's a good thing, you know that's a wonderful thing about D.C. is that folks want to help,” White said.

It’s what he calls the heart of D.C.  

The anonymous group of women ordered masks from Nigeria. Now they’ll end up in the hands of seniors living east of the Anacostia River. 

“They are much needed, and these seniors will be so relieved to have this protection because of course, they are in the most vulnerable groups. And every day when I get a report on the deaths that we have seen, you frequently see people 65 years and older so we've really got to get masks for as many of them as possible.” White added.

RELATED: COVID-19 pandemic highlights socioeconomic health care disparities

It's a small token for a group who often find themselves at a disadvantage to their neighbors.  

“We've seen this pandemic really shine a spotlight on some of the disparities that many of us know of and have been working on within this city. And so, this is a reminder that these health disparities, these disparities in amenities, are not something that we should be taking lightly.” White said.

RELATED: Ward 4 now has DC's highest COVID-19 count

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