Community leaders take initiatives to help
Unemployment is increasing, students are missing the classroom and many are losing loved ones from this pandemic; however, despite the struggles that COVID-19 has created, community leaders across the world have joined the mask-making crusade in efforts to contribute to widespread relief. With a great need for masks in health care systems, combined with the possibility that these masks are preventing the spread of the virus, the efforts of mask-makers everywhere seem to play a significant role in ending this pandemic.
In the U.S., hundreds of people are dedicating time and energy into hand sewing masks. ABC NEWS 4 highlighted the work of Briana Danyele, who individually made nearly 200 masks in her hometown of Greer, South Carolina and donates them to hospitals all over the country. After noticing how masks were hurting the ears of healthcare workers, Mt. Pleasant community leader Trista Kutcher created a special headband that she is selling and donating to doctors in an attempt to spread joy during the uncertainty of COVID-19.
Many local businesses have also joined the mask-making army. In Charleston, South Carolina, Brackish Bowties, a company started by Wofford graduates, has shifted their production from handmade feather bow ties to protective masks. “The NY Times” has also featured larger fabric and clothing companies, such as H&M, that have partnered with the World Health Organization in order to make high quality and effective face masks.
South Carolinians aren’t the only people interested in crafting COVID-19-protecting masks—groups of people around the world are contributing to their creation. According to the Hindu Business Line, efforts to make masks in India have not only helped to protect individuals but have also given women a way to make extra money during the pandemic. Addiotionally, the Spanish Air Force’s Twitter account reveals how women across Spain have volunteered their time for mask-making. Furthermore, according to ABC News, “In Kosovo, inmates in a women’s prison volunteered to make masks.”
Members in the Wofford community have also joined mask making efforts. Olivia Free, ’22, started making masks because “I thought sewing masks would be a good way to promote good health in my community.”
saw a need to start sewing masks after “a large shipment of old outdated masks from around 2005 that broke once you picked them up” were sent to her hometown.
Winnie Beth, seventh grader and sister of Adair Bannister, ’23, “learned how to make masks from YouTube tutorials and advice from a local nurse.”
The efforts to make masks across the globe seem to reveal how everyone can be an agent for change. Though COVID-19 has brought about many struggles, it has also resulted in the formation of alliances among people all working toward the same cause.
