(written by Nell late Monday evening)
Today has been such a weird day…like every day since the beginning of March hasn’t been weird. But I digress.
We are so very grateful for the opportunity to make face masks. We have been humbled beyond words by the generosity of folks helping us with this project. While a large part of what has been needed has been donated, we have supplemented those donations with needed purchases.
Immediately elastic was a problem. Not for us. We reinvented and went to making our own elasticized ear loops from stretchy fabric or making ties. We received donated fabric and sheets. We cut. And we ordered more fabric. With bulk orders we had wonderful volunteers who cut for us. We filled the orders we had for youth, children and family services in Texas.
Then we turned to the needs to our border cities. I went online to order the needed fabric. The price had doubled since the last time I ordered! I was only able to order half of what we needed. So I ordered from a second source. And we waited. And we waited.
I began receiving messages from the various places that our order was “lost.” Not sure what that means, except that our friends and leaders on the border need masks and we need fabric. So the hunt began!
Store after store had empty shelves. I began making calls. Can you check this location for me? Does your town have fabric available? How much can you secure for me? Two hundred and some odd miles later in one day, we have fabric.
I rest tonight content. We will continue to do all we can to help meet the needs of those fighting to keep our communities healthy and safe. You made that possible by your donations and contributions. We are so very grateful!
