More Mask Giveaways in New Bedford

The City of New Bedford, in partnership with the American Red Cross and Joseph Abboud Manufacturing, will again be giving away cloth masks at various locations over the next two months.

Mayor Jon Mitchell began the distribution of free masks in May as part of MaskNB and has continued with more than 52,000 masks provided to New Bedford residents.

The next round of mask giveaways will begin on July 7th, and take place outside the city's three middle schools and at "pop-up" locations in city neighborhoods.

Residents are asked to limit their mask requests to those in their household and/or any elderly or vulnerable neighbors. Distribution at the middle schools will begin this month.

Wards 1 & 2Saturday, July 18 – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Normandin Middle School, 81 Felton Street (use Orleans Street entrance)
Wards 3 & 4Saturday, August 1 – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Keith Middle School, 225 Hathaway Boulevard
Wards 5 & 6Saturday, August 8 – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Roosevelt Middle School, 119 Frederick Street,

The Neighborhood Distribution program begins on Tuesday, July 7th at Riverside Park.

Four neighborhood walk-up distribution events are planned in neighborhoods across New Bedford for residents of those neighborhoods only. These smaller distribution events will be held at pop-up tents and observe social distancing in public spaces across the city on the following assigned dates in these locations:

Riverside Park– Tuesday, July 7 – 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Ashley Park– Tuesday, July 21 – 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Serenity Gardens– Thursday, July 30 – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Loretta Bourque Park – Thursday, August 13 – 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon
Additional dates may be announced based on available supplies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the wearing of cloth face coverings in public where social distancing is difficult to maintain; cloth face coverings are not a substitute for medical-grade masks, but provide more protection against the spread of viruses than not covering one’s face. More information about the use and effectiveness of cloth face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html.

Information provided by the City of New Bedford