JAMESTOWN — Families around Greene County are getting out their sewing machines to stitch homemade face masks for first responders working on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Britney Carrington’s family has made it a team effort in Jamestown.
“My family is always looking for a reason to help others when in need,” the Greeneview Girls Wrestling Coach said. “There seems to have been a pattern of desperation in our community over the past year between the tornado and Oregon District shooting.”
Carrington’s first job was at a fabric shop when she was 16. She passed her sewing skills onto her three daughters.
“The three of us collectively have been cutting fabric and pressing and sewing, along with my husband, Brandon Carrington,” she said. “We have a son with a compromised immune system, [so] we understand the need for the people supporting the frontlines to also have protection.”
While she and Isabell Carrington, 14, sew on two machines, the others — June Pyles Treser, 11, and Hazel Jacobs, 7 — make up the assembly line.
Carrington turned her living area into a sew shop. She’s been using her own fabric and elastic that’s been donated.
“I’m a coach, so this sort of thing comes with a giving heart,” she said.
So far, the family has distributed masks to Airway Animal Clinic, Jamestown Family Market, two dialysis facilities in Cincinnati, and many elderly and immuno-compromised neighbors in the community.
Hospitals accepting homemade masks
Individuals who would like to answer the call for volunteers, like the Carrington family did, still have the chance to do so locally.
Kettering Health Network (KHN) is asking community groups and volunteers to sew cloth masks covers.
“These cloth mask covers would be worn over surgical masks to help sustain the functionality of surgical masks and support employee safety during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Elizabeth Long, spokesperson for KHN, said.
An approved pattern and material specifications can be found at www.madeeveryday.com/fabric-face-mask-free-pattern/. The pattern is 9 inches wide by 8 inches deep.
Masks can be dropped off in designated bins at locations throughout the greater Dayton area between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Masks will then be laundered and distributed to KHN facilities. Greene County locations are Greene Memorial Hospital, Main Entrance, 1141 N. Monroe Drive, Xenia, and Soin Medical Center, Main Entrance, 3535 Pentagon Blvd., Beavercreek.
The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA), in partnership with Montgomery County Emergency Management and Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County, is also accepting homemade masks and related supplies.
“Many generous individuals, nonprofits, private companies and others are reaching out to offer support. While our hospitals are making the most of our inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE), there is still a need for additional equipment and supplies due to increased national demand,” said Sarah Hackenbracht, president and CEO of GDAHA.
Masks can be dropped off at St. Vincent de Paul Community Store, 945 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd., Dayton, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Donations should be delivered in plastic bags no larger than 13 gallons, ideally in bags that are closed or tied for storage. Masks will be laundered and distributed throughout the region as needed.
Other supplies are also in demand. Montgomery County has a stockpile of never-used N-95 masks that need repair to bring them into compliance. Donations of thread, one-fourth-inch elastic, and gallon sized baggies are needed to repair these N-95 masks.
“At this critical time, we appreciate our community’s eagerness to donate supplies that will help ensure our hospitals can continue to protect our patients, providers, and staff,” Hackenbracht said. “This situation is unprecedented, and we are grateful for the extra help.”
