NIBLEY – A group of Nibley residents have banded together — in isolation — to create do-it-yourself protective masks for Maple Springs of North Logan, a local assisted living facility.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Nibley Stake — a regional congregation of church members — gathered in their individual homes and put their different talents together to create masks for staff and residents at the facility.
“Whatever your thing is, you can do that to contribute,” said Jan Honny, a member of the neighborhood. “Today, I was cutting, someone else is putting kits together, someone else is washing, someone else is gathering.”
Masks are made primarily from materials provided by JOANN Fabric and Craft Store — which is providing mask-making kits to those interested in doing so. Participants wash the fabric, then sew fabric and elastic together to ensure the masks stay on properly.
While the masks aren’t surgical grade, Honny says they’re “better than nothing.”
“If we’re trying to isolate ourselves or if you had someone sick in your family, any way you could protect yourself would be better than nothing,” she said. “These aren’t the best masks, they’re just a little bit more protective than you’d have without one.”
Honny said the masks’ main purpose are to help her neighborhood members protect themselves while taking care of family members or others.
“I think they would be helpful. If you needed to take food in or help someone that was sick, you’d have better protection than just going with nothing,” she said.
The sewn masks are also intended for staff to wear over medial-grade masks to help those last even longer.
“That helps them last longer,” said Peggy Reese, a participant in the project.
In addition to sewing masks, the stake is also holding a blood drive at their local church building Wednesday. They host blood drives three times a year but implemented a fourth to substitute for the high number of canceled drives.
“Blood isn’t needed when things are going well, it’s needed when things aren’t going well, so if we cancel our blood drives at this time it makes things worse,” said Gerald Knight, Nibley resident who organized the drive. Knight said the group has “great support” in trying to reach their goal of 70 donors.