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Mask-making operation produces 9,000 for TGH
It's what's right with Tampa Bay
TAMPA, Fla. - There's less of a need for masks for front line workers thanks to a community of Tampa Bay sewers. This tight-knit group is what's right with Tampa Bay.
Sewing is what Carmen Wilson enjoys doing. She is the owner of GiGi Fabric in Brandon.
When the pandemic started, she had to shut her shop down. So when she got word that health professionals at Tampa General Hospital needed masks, she reached out to her social media group of seamstresses to help out.
"They started calling and started to say, 'What do you need from us?' and it got so crazy that I had to create a group to coordinate everything," she explained.
The sewing community called their effort Mask Makers of Tampa Bay.
"We had probably over 100 women sewing for us," said Carmen. "They were pretty much sewing all the time. I mean it was probably 40 days straight."
The group has made more than 9,000 masks for front line workers.
"At one point, we had over 250 requests and we have fulfilled all of them as of now," Carmen said. "That's what's so beautiful about our community is that everyone just pitched in."
She is thankful for her band of stitching sisters; a community of sewers coming together to help keep healthcare workers safe during the pandemic.
Carmen says the group is now making masks for employees of restaurants and dog shelters.