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COMMUNITY >> SEWISTS UNITE
COVID MASKS
Sewn with Love Spreading Hope, Not the Virus, One Stitch at a Time W R I T T E N B Y M A R L O W E S TA R L I N G
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urrounded by colorful fabrics with the voices of Eva Cassidy, James Taylor and Ray Charles wafting in the background, Gainesville resident and retiree Shanti Vani found her solace. In the first weeks of the statewide coronavirus shutdown, the 69-year-old was confined to the walls of her home but that didn’t mean idle fingers. Vani decided to sew homemade, cloth masks for health care workers and others in need of personal protective equipment. “It was just one small thing I could do since I was confined at home anyway,” she said. “I’ve always been one to want to help people.” On March 17, 2020, Florida came to a standstill. The governor ordered a statewide shutdown, closing all non-essential businesses and sending college
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OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
Sept/Oct 2020
students home. At the time, health care workers lacked adequate access to essential personal protective equipment, also known as PPE. This only added to the long list of items experiencing a nationwide shortage. Vani was one of the dozens of sewists in Gainesville who donated their time and energy to create face masks as part of Gainesville COVID Masks, a volunteer sewing group. Soon, dozens turned into hundreds. From sewists and quilters to university students and city officials, people offered to run erands, donate money and help deliver PPE to hospitals and welfare facilities across Alachua County. With the help of the Alachua County chapter of Days for Girls, the Community Foundation of North Central Florida and its donors, the Cade Museum, the University of Florida, UF Health and PHOTOGRAPHY: NICOLE GUILLEN