Hey, San Diego, you might want to start lining up now: Mad Engine, the locally based apparel/accessory company with global reach plans on handing out 250,000 free masks to locals.
The giveaway is taking place Saturday for four hours, kicking off at 10 a.m. at Mad Engine's corporate headquarters at 6740 Cobra Way in Mira Mesa, as well as at a second location, in Irvine, California. Just to be clear -- these are not surgical masks; they're just the nonmedical fabric face-coverings us norms are sporting these days.
The big mask deal is actually bigger: In total, Mad Engine says its target is a million-mask giveaway. It won't be handing out all those on Saturday, of course -- representatives of charities or other organizations seeking masks for "frontline, essential workers and others that have a need" can put in a request at goodworks@madengine.com.
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So far, Mad Engine has given away "a couple thousand ... each facility has 250,000 masks to give away at this event," said company rep Melissa Ordas, who added that recipients so far have been "church groups, homeless shelters, mostly charities have been coming to get them this week."
Ordas said that they have been giving away about a thousand at a time, but "it depends on how many they ask for."
Everyone from Mad Engine's owners to warehouse employees -- "it's all volunteers," Ordas said -- will be in Mira Mesa Saturday, and they'll all be wearing masks themselves, of course, as well as latex gloves, and visitors will have access to hand-washing stations and Port-a-Potties as well.
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Mad Engine was founded in 1987 and describes itself as the "leading global licensed apparel wholesaler with top brands including Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Nickelodeon," and sells everything from Ts to tanks and beanies to bags.
