Not since WWII has there been a call to come together as global citizens to face an enemy like the coronavirus (COVID-19) head-on.

I remember, as a kid, my mom telling me stories of our family’s history and involvement in WWII.

While the men in the family fought overseas, my grandmother and her mother did their part working in the factories.

Just like my family members before me, I answered the call, serving over 20 years with one tour in Iraq.

As I listen to the news of the global pandemic spreading around the world, the story told to me as a child has a new meaning to me today.

The Greatest Generation has taught us, we as a nation and our allies can only win and make the world a better and more peaceful place by working together.

Surgical Mask Shortage

You may have read or heard on the news there is a severe shortage of masks, gowns, and gloves also known as personal protective equipment (PPE) around the world.

Healthcare workers are risking their lives to protect and take care of the public and then quarantining themselves from their families to reduce the risk of bringing home the virus from being forced to reuse masks due to lack of protective gear.

Our health care professionals need PPE to stay healthy and safe while diagnosing and treating patients with coronavirus.

While federal, state, and local governments are working diligently together to increase the production of essential life-saving equipment, no one knows the date or time, down to the hour or milliseconds on how long it will take to get the essential items in the hands of health care works at hospitals.

Supplies could take days, weeks, or even months to arrive.

Reusing N-95 Masks

Under normal circumstances, N-95 masks are thrown away between treating each patient.

Healthcare professionals are taught it is unsanitary to reuse a mask.

As supplies start to run low, doctors and nurses find themselves at a decision point.

Go against what was learned in medical school and choose between reusing a mask or wearing a bandana?

The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend using cloth masks under any circumstances.

Alternative practices put healthcare workers at an increased risk of respiratory illness and viral infections. What does this mean for a patient waiting to be seen?

It means one less health professional on the front lines doing battle with the invisible enemy COVID-19.

Using a fabric face mask to cover an N-95 mask can aid in extending its use but is not the right action to take. Cloth masks in no way replace N-95 masks.

Healthcare workers need personal protective equipment sooner than later.

Masks for Healthcare Workers

Sewing masks for local hospitals and nursing homes is one way to help in the short-term.

I am sharing a video from a local news article I found in my recommended news feed on how to make homemade 100% cotton face masks.

The instructions are simple and easy, meet CDC face mask guidelines and requires just three items: a sewing machine, 100% cotton, and elastic.

100 Million Mask Donation Challenge

Fabric and elastic can be purchased at your local fabric store that carries sewing supplies (if it’s open) or online from JoAnn Fabrics, which is currently offering 20% off your total order.

In-person shopping and curbside pickup is available. Be sure to check their website for store hours.

When my grandmother was alive, JoAnn Fabrics was the store she would get all her supplies from to crotchet doilies, sew clothes for dolls, and country-western singers.

I can only imagine if she were alive today, we would be sitting at her sewing machine, making face masks together.

The JoAnn Fabrics near my house lately have experienced an uptick in traffic with lines wrapped around the block of good-hearted individuals stepping up and accepting the challenge of donating 100 million masks to healthcare workers.

If you’re not a fan of standing in long lines, I recommend ordering online and trying out curbside pickup.

Before donating homemade cloth face masks, check with your local hospital first about the hospital’s policy for accepting home-sewn face covers.

Alternative Ways to Help Healthcare Professionals

If you don’t sew or your sewing machine is out of commission and want to join the effort to help, here are a few ideas:

• Donate to GiveMN (if you live in Minnesota), your local non profit organization, or church.

• Start a PPE collection effort by reaching out to local nail salons, construction companies, and veterinary clinics for N-95 masks, gowns, and gloves. Visit your state’s emergency website to find surgical mask drop off locations and times.

• Support small business owners and buy soft and washable homemade cotton face mask covers from Etsy shop owners. I love buying local and supporting my community entrepreneurs.

While we stay at home and practice social distancing, it doesn’t mean we have to feel helpless.

Contact your local government representative and advocate for the immediate local production of PPE for our healthcare workers fighting at the frontlines.

Many of these healthcare workers have families. Please don’t allow a lack of planning, resources, and bureaucracy over this fast-spreading disease result in a child losing a parent to COVID-19.

We have the power and means to ensure our healthcare workers, neighbors, and loved ones are safe by slowing the pace of this pandemic.

Random Acts of Kindness

Homemade face masks are great for caregivers, loved ones with allergies, keeping in droplet from sneezing or coughing, cleaning around the house, going outside to get food and keep you from touching your face.

Acts of kindness don’t have to stop with making cloth masks.

In addition to the elderly being vulnerable, another group of individuals that isn’t being talked about as much as veterans, the disabled and the homeless.

Homemade hand sanitizer makes wonderful gifts for neighbors and homeless shelters taking a few minutes to make.

Need to make a face covering in a pinch? Learn how to make a mask using two items already in your home in less than a minute.

Check out my post, DIY No-Sew Cloth Mask At Home to wear in public.

If you live near a distillery, reach out to them and encourage them to make in-house hand sanitizers to help combat shortages just like Portland, Oregon’s Shine Distillery and Grill, and other distilleries.

We’re in this together. Our efforts will save millions of lives!