MAKE MASKS LA
4/12/2020 Update: Going into Week 4, we are raising our goal to $50,000. Due to all of your generous donations, we have been able to ramp up productions and get out 500-800 masks and surgical hats per day. We are continuing to consult with a nurse in UC Davis and receiving requests for supplies from healthcare workers across the country. As of 4/10 we have shipped over 6000 masks and surgical hats. We have had no response from any of the government programs that claimed to offer financial support, so we are running entirely on your donations. Please check back frequently as we are posting photos and letters from the brave people you are helping on the front lines. Thank you!
ORIGINAL POST:
Healthcare workers need masks urgently to prevent the spread of Covid-19. In response to a request from a nurse on the front lines of this crisis at a hospital in Northern California, Alison Barone is using her sewing factory in Los Angeles, California to manufacture cloth masks that fit over n95 respirators, extending the effectiveness of the respirators and protecting against particular type of spread. These will be given to hospitals and healthcare facilities at no cost. We are seeking funds to:
a) keep the factory premises safe, clean, open, and in compliance with regulations separating volunteers and their sewing machines at least 6’ apart;
b) buy more materials - elastic, fabric;
c) and compensate volunteers for their expenses (transportation, meals, etc.)
d) ship the masks to various locations using FedEx
We begin manufacture Monday, March 23, 2020 with existing stock of elastic and fabric. With $5,000, we anticipate being able to make 50 per volunteer sewer per day for the next 5 days. If we raise more, we can make more.
State or city funding will take time to secure, but we are exploring every possibility. This crowdfund will get us started and get materials that are urgently needed. Thank you for your support!
** per Gofundme, and to assure people of the safety of this fundraising effort, I am an attorney in Los Angeles and I have represented Alison Barone and known her personally. Your dollars will go toward making masks. You can contact me on Instagram at @jenniferhollidayesq. We are working with a nurse at UC Davis who has been providing details about specifications and what particular type of masks her facility needs. Thank you - sincerely.
