Supporting health care workers one stitch at a time

By Sheila Phibbs

The Haldimand Press

JARVIS—We have seen demonstrations of kindness on a daily basis during the pandemic, especially in support of frontline workers. 

Like many others, Tracy Fast of Jarvis joined the initiative to sew protective masks for health care workers after hearing from her friend, Marlene Reimer of Peacock Point, who had learned about the demand for cloth masks in the United States. They were aware that there was some controversy over the use of cloth masks in Canada, but Fast explains, “When a nurse friend messaged that she thought these masks would be needed, we took the leap of faith and started a sewing group immediately.”

Haldimand-Norfolk: Sewing for COVID-19 was created with the goal of providing free face masks to nursing homes and health care professionals and essential workers who required them. The project expanded to include scrub caps and isolation gowns.

One of the first recruits was Gail Mote of Dunnville, a friend of Fast and Vanderwier, who was featured in the May 14 issue of The Haldimand Press (“Sew Much Help for Leisure Living”). Mote took on the job of communicating with those seeking face masks and keeping distribution records.