Church members donate thousands of masks to three local hospitals

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated more than 8,000 masks to

, CHI St. Joseph Health, and CapRock Hospital on Tuesday.

Leaders of The Church first acquired the masks in 2017 to help with their Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Bishop Stephen Cooper says following the hurricane, one person insisted he keep the extra masks stored away. He didn't know it at the time, but Cooper says the timing was perfect.

"I call it a miracle. That why in the world would I have 7,000-8,000 masks sitting in my attic for actually several years, boxed up, safe, secure? When you see these things, and all of a sudden that inspiration, I guess is what I'm going to call it, that now is the time to bring the masks out," explained Cooper.

Baylor Scott and White released a statement on donations:

"At Baylor Scott & White, we work each day believing ‘We are in it together.’ It is one of our organizational values. That holds true right now more than ever. During this unprecedented time, we are faithfully serving those who need us most, and we are even more humbled when the community responds with acts of kindness, bringing innovative and creative solutions to help our patients and staff.

It’s inspiring to be part of a community with a strong desire to make a difference.

We have received a number of offers of support from the public and organized groups willing to donate supplies. While we work to develop locations that can safely receive donations from the public, we ask all who are interested in donating supplies to email

."