MediMasks: Protecting the Most Vulnerable
With the support of our amazing volunteers, donors, sewing professionals, partner organizations and advisors, MediMasks has been an amazing story of teamwork and success!
We began in March of 2020, with the goal of sewing one thousand masks for front-line medical workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We very quickly provided thousands of masks to nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, therapists and medical staff!
After the first months of the pandemic, we began to shift our focus to getting masks to homeless families in need. Our team re-designed layered cotton masks in several children's sizes.
Each MEDIMASKS dollar has gone directly to the hand-working seamstresses and cutters who have made this possible.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all that each of you has done to support the MediMasks project!!!
Our story:
We were stunned to learn, back in March of 2020, that local hospitals didn't have enough masks, even in Labor and Delivery. We heard from Emergency Room staff in a large Bay Area hospital that they had no facial protection of any sort. Then we started hearing from firefighters and EMTs - also with no masks. The need was overwhelming.
Kaiser Permanente was delighted to accept our first batch of washable fabric masks, made at home by Melody Chavis, who has continued to be the at heart of this project, from the initial design to organizing the inspection, sterilization, packaging and personal delivery of every mask.
We started with a simple plan for getting 1,000 hand sewn masks to hospitals and front line medical workers quickly:
We located a fabric cutter and a skilled seamstress who were suddenly without work. We received generous donations of 100% cotton fabric from many friends, including hand-crafted fabric artists Laura and Kiran. The world renowned fashion designer Giselle Shepatin has been central to the project from the start and has provided us with a beautiful and safe studio space, equipment, hard to find elastic - and so much more!! 
The gratitude that we received from front line medical workers, firefighters and EMTs, in five local counties, was overwhelming!
Our hope was that this would be a very temporary situation. But sadly, we continued to be flooded with heart-rending requests.
During the month of May, we responded to calls for help from VA Hospitals throughout California.
In June, we sent a series of shipments of masks to Navajo Nation clinics, where they were desperately needed.
Every mask produced in July went to those without shelter.
And August's masks, still directed toward the homeless, were re-designed in four additional sizes for children.
As the project grew, we increased our production capacity, with the ability to pay additional seamstresses. BB Borowitz joined our team of volunteers, as outreach co-ordinator, and Geri Redpath jumped in to co-ordinate pickups and deliveries - with an all electric car! Several additional teams have stepped up to help with the sterilization and packaging of individual masks.
Caring For Children gifted us in autumn with a very generous donation of dozens of new teddy bears, which Geri delivered along with our children's masks to Richmond children now temporarily housed in shelters and a local hotel . Giselle and Alicia created tiny masks for each teddy bear in fun fabrics, with the hope of encouraging the kids to wear their own masks more happily. The children have been overjoyed to receive them!!!
In December, Geri gave an awesome presentation, covering the history of MediMasks, to a large association of Volunteer Organizations serving Contra Costa County. A model for what dedicated volunteers can accomplish, with the support of a fabulous community of donors!
We continued to do everything possible to help keep the most vulnerable as safe as possible. We arranged deliveries, with our partner organizations, to curbside communities in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Emeryville, and Richmond. Along with gifts of refurbished N95 masks for the parents and caretakers!
We have received deep gratitude from those outside. They, who have so few choices, have loved these soft reusable cotton masks.
Special appreciation goes to SOS! Richmond. This organization is doing extraordinary work to support the over 1,000 Richmond "residents" who live on the streets, in unsupported and unsafe homeless encampments, in shelters and in other temporary lodgings not meant for habitation. Their work to build community and to facilitate personal and institutional change is exemplary, and we are overjoyed to be able to support them! We are told that the recipients "relish" these special comfortable cloth masks - and wear them with care!
Big thanks to our partners at Richmond's Office of Neighborhood Safety, Pogo Park, and Oakland's Homeless Outreach Teams for delivering MediMasks! Thank you to the Office of Berkeley City Councilwoman Kate Harris for distributing MediMasks to the Men's Shelter at the Veterans Building, and to those living in encampments along the freeways. Thank you to Berkeley's Downtown Streets Team, which employs homeless people to help keep the streets clean. And to Oakland's Love and Justice in the Streets! And to Berkeley's Women's Daytime Drop in Center!
And thank you to the additional partners who have distributed masks to children in need - the YMCA's early childhood impact program, Sisterweb, Harmonic Humanity, and White Pony Express!
Deep bows to all for their amazing work during this challenging time!
Thank you for responding to the need to keep all of us healthy, and for being part of this amazing community of generous donors!!
With gratitude, love and hope,
Vivien, Melody, Giselle, Alicia, Geri, BB, Enrique, Micha, Sara, Mike, Lisa, John, Jan, Cliff, Bayta, Helene, Batya, Nancy, Nick and Jeff
