Volunteer effort underway in State College to make masks for those on the front lines of COVID-19 fight

Downtown State College arts and craft studio The Makery may be closed for its regular programming and classes due to the coronavirus, but that hasn’t stopped the business’s community of creatives from making a difference. According to owner Amy Frank, last week, fate set the wheels in motion for what is now an impactful initiative involving more than 100 community members.

“I started to see some posts from ... private Facebook groups of people making Level 1 surgical masks, because medical professionals and service professionals in their areas were having a hard time finding that form of personal protective equipment,” Frank said.

After seeing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention article recommending health care providers without access to masks use scarves or bandannas for protection, Frank decided “certainly we can do better than that for our people who are on the front lines in our own community.”

At the same time, Frank said The Makery had already received requests from former sewing students who wanted information on how to make face masks for those who might need them. Then, in addition to realizing how The Makery was optimally positioned to provide information to those interested in making masks, Frank said she recognized a lot of those interested in helping didn’t have access to the materials needed to sew masks.

That was another area where The Makery could help.

“Because stores are closed, a lot of people who wanted to help could not get materials. They couldn’t get fabric or elastic. We said, we’re sitting on a stockpile of fabric and elastic and thread and certainly we have the patterns. We can teach people how to make these. Why don’t we make some kits for free and offer to drop those off at people’s homes?” she said.

The first day, The Makery delivered a few dozen kits and, since then, interested individuals have been picking the kits of mask-making supplies and instructions up in locations around town.

“We were able to offer a service as an information point for people interested in making masks. We were able to offer supplies for free, because that was something harder for people to come by. The last piece we were able to do was become kind of a clearing house for groups who need or want masks in town; they’ve been emailing us and we take their requests and make sure they get those masks,” Frank said.

The efforts are organized via a private Facebook page, Makery Mask Makers!, which volunteer sewers can request to join. Volunteer sewers aren’t required to create a certain number of masks to participate, and those who already have sewing materials on hand are welcomed to use their own supplies, as well as their own patterns. However, The Makery points sewers to mask patterns that are both suitable for the end user and for sewers with beginner-level skills. In fact, Frank says many of the volunteer sewers are previous students who have participated in The Makery’s children’s sewing classes.

“The pattern we’ve been using most and talking about most is a simpler version that is very easy for the wearer of the mask and is fairly easy for the maker to create,” she said. “The understanding we’re getting from the health care workers we’re talking to is that this kind of mask is better than a bandanna. Ideally, we’re hoping in the next couple weeks, the supply and demand evens out and (health care workers) have what they need; we’re filling the hole in between.”

The effort is supplying masks to Centre Region home health workers, nursing home care givers and some clinical medical professionals such as family clinics, Frank said.

Margo Wyckoff, 13, has been assembling her first batch of masks over the last few days with the help of some patterns available via The Makery’s Facebook page.

“I like to sew, I learned at The Makery, and this is a way to help. Also, since we are home doing school online and are self-isolating, this gives me something to do,” she said. “The masks are needed and this is a fun way to feel like you’re helping doctors and nurses.”

Since creating the Facebook group last week, the group has distributed about 100 masks, with requests from health care providers for 400-500 more. Health care providers are reaching out to The Makery directly to place requests.

Initially, Frank said, the intention was to provide the homemade masks to service providers, but the focus quickly shifted to health care workers.

“We didn’t understand the level of need in our own community. ... What we’ve been surprised by and what we’ve since prioritized is, in fact, a lot of people in the health services industry in our very town don’t have the equipment they need to protect themselves,” she said.

Those interested in joining the Facebook group to volunteer their sewing skills, or to learn more about making masks for their own use, can visit www.facebook.com/groups/209336890283187. Those who want to donate suitable mask-making and sewing supplies, or health care and service providers who would like to request masks, can email hello@themakerypa.com.