There is a list one rattles off as they rush out of the house: keys, phone, and wallet. Most of these items are customized to fit our personalities. So, are essential face masks any different? With the continued need for masking in public spaces on her mind, Random Acts Assistant Coordinator Beverley Burrows-Pym dusted off her sewing kit.
Face Masks for #CoverTheCaregivers
It all started with GISH’s #CoverTheCaregivers challenge, which aimed to make as many masks as possible for mass distribution. This ties into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guideline of everyone wearing face masks when out in public settings. When two other friends joined Beverley, the group designated roles. One served as the resident shopper, choosing to make her purchases safely online. While the fabric was easy to find, elastic was a tad trickier. At the time, it was said to be “almost as hard to find as toilet rolls.” Especially when their initial goal of 35 masks for the local aged welfare turned into an additional 70 for the visitors to a local hospital.
The Travelling Fabric
Image courtesy of Beverley Burrows-Pym.
While the resident shopper carried out the logistics, another was in charge of the cutting. The pieces of fabric were left in Beverley’s letterbox for her to sew and parcel up. It would then be put in her other friend’s mailbox to be sent out. This came in handy when another hospital wanted face masks for their visitors but was outside the ladies’ travel distance. They further used their mailboxes to send the needed masks! That was not the only means for social distancing as text messages delivered thank yous. “We received text messages from the organizations that we sent them to and have seen people using them at the local facility,” Beverley said.