I, LIKE HOPEFULLY MOST PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY, HAVE BEEN ON LOCK DOWN FOR ALMOST 3 WEEKS. WE WALK, WE FOLLOW THE RULES, WE SMILE AND SAY HELLO TO OUR NEIGHBORS, WHILE RESPECTING SOCIAL DISTANCING.
BUT I FELT POWERLESS TO HELP THE PEOPLE ON THE FRONT LINE. EMT’S, DOCTORS, NURSES, VOLUNTEERS, PEOPLE IN SENIOR CITIZEN HOMES, EVEN A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT. I PUT IT OUT IN THE UNIVERSE THAT I WANTED TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
A WONDERFUL COMPANY BASED OUT OF NEW YORK CALLED – SUNDAY PUNCH – ANSWERED ME. THEY ARE MAKING AMAZING MASKS FOR HOSPITALS AND ANYONE THAT NEEDS THEM. I CAN NOT SEW, BUT I DID HAVE SOMETHING I COULD SHARE! I HAVE BEEN TAKING CARE OF MY 84-YEAR-OLD MOM, WHO WAS NOT ONLY A NURSE, BUT A FANTASTIC SEAMSTRESS!! IN HER FINISHED BASEMENT, MY DAD HAD BUILT HER A “SEWING ROOM.” A PLACE NO ONE HAS VENTURED INTO IN YEARS.
WHEN I WENT EXPLORING, I FOUND FABULOUS FABRIC, FROM FLOWERS TO DINOSAURS! I FOUND THE FABRIC TO LINE THE MASKS AND A BASKET FULL OF THE ELASTIC NEEDED TO MAKE THE EAR BANDS!
I WASHED AND IRONED ALL THE MATERIAL, PACKED IT UP AND SHIPPED IT ON IT’S WAY! I KNOW IT IS NOT MUCH, BUT I AM PROUD THAT MOM AND I COULD DO SOMETHING TO HELP HER FELLOW NURSES AND ALL OF OUR FELLOW BROTHER AND SISTERS IN THE WORLD.
**MAKE A SIGN AND HANG YOUR SUPPORT IN YOUR WINDOWS, SMILE AT YOUR NEIGHBORS AS YOU PASS THEM ON A WALK, AND MOST OF ALL STAY HEALTHY. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER.