Fredonian to Fredonian; Dunkirk woman sews, gives protective face masks to students

Thanks to a former Fredonia student, students living on campus for the rest of the spring semester had cloth face masks to wear so they could do their part to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The colorful, all-cotton masks were made by Cheryl Gawronski, who attended Fredonia more than a half-century ago. She is part of Community Sourced PPE: Operation Sewing Squad, a Facebook group whose members wash material, cut fabric, sew masks and distribute them where they’re needed in Western New York.

Working remotely, these volunteers made and distributed some 33,000 face masks in 36 days to law enforcement agencies, local governments, hospitals, the New York State Department of Health and home nursing agencies, among others.

“We noticed that students were not wearing masks like they should be wearing, and I knew Cheryl was making them for other groups,” explained Jill Zappie, an office assistant in Residence Life. “I reached out to her, and she made 100 for us in a matter of three days!”

"I am so thankful to Cheryl for her kind gesture,” said Kathy Forster, director of Residence Life. “I know that the on-campus students and the staff that the students interact with on a daily basis appreciate the thoughtfulness."

Those thoughts were echoed by Zappie. “The residence directors were very excited about them, are very thankful,” she said.