The Facilities Management employees are hard at work putting together Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits for the students, staff, and faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“A lot of the effort has come from the custodial staff,” said Sandra Vail, director of operations and services. “Facilities Management wants to help keep all of us safe and healthy. We are happy to create these kits for our campus family.”

The kits contain hand sanitizer, face masks, and a digital thermometer. Much of the hand sanitizer is coming from a donation the university received from Peach Layne earlier in the summer.

It has truly been a team effort that takes all hands on deck. Four people can work on the assembly line while maintaining social distance guidelines. When Cadence Baize, administrative analyst, is not working on the assembly line, she’s often cutting elastic string for face masks while she is participating in virtual meetings at her desk.

“We are putting in our best for this effort,” Baize said. “Kendrick Raino even came up with an idea where we can cut multiple strings at a time. We are pulling all of our resources to get the job done.”

Facilities Management plans to assemble 9,000 kits before the start of the fall semester on Aug. 24. Kits will be distributed to students during Move-in Week and in stations around campus during the first week of school. Employees will receive their kits from their supervisors.

“It takes all of us to complete a project like this,” said Vince Rodgers, director of EHS and chemical hygiene. “Everyone comes together to help from the big things to the small.”

In the upper right photo, Facilities Management employees Cadence Baize (left), Vince Rodgers (middle), and Sandra Vail (right) assemble PPE kits for students and employees at UA Little Rock.