Sewing to slow the spread

After years of constructing custom costumes, the Coal City Theatre Department had built up a stockpile of remnant fabric, and rather than let it sit on a shelf it was used to help protect essential workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Theatre director Jack Micetich, with support from the Unit 1 School District, gathered up the fabrics, along with elastic and other notions that were used to create face mask kits.
Micetich enlisted the help of the theatre department’s seamstresses to create the face coverings, and in putting out the call for sewers, he discovered a number of local residents were willing to lend a hand.
With help from his mom and a friend, Micetich put together over 650 kits—two squares of cotton fabric, elastic bands and wire—in less than 48 hours.
The kits went out as soon as they were ready and seamstresses were returning the completed masks to Micetich’s front door in record time. There were even donations from others who used their own supplies.
Even before the first masks were completed requests were coming in from healthcare professionals and essential workers who were looking for a layer of protection and others who were simply wanting to do their part to help slow the spread of the virus.
The masks were distributed to individuals working in hospitals, medical clinics, and residential health facilities from Chicago’s south suburbs to Kankakee. They went to major medical centers in the city of Chicago and the field hospital at McCormick Place. Nursing care facilities and assisted living centers received masks for residents and employees.
First responders, along with employees from some of the state’s correctional facilities are also wearing the masks. And requests from banks, social service agencies, grocery store workers and even the newspaper were also fulfilled.
The reach extended beyond Illinois, as word of the effort spread. A handful went to a nurse in Colorado who lacked sufficient personal protection equipment (PPE) and one went to a Coal City theatre fan who’s working in a St. Louis grocery store.
Over 775 masks have been distributed.
"It has been a great way for us to give back to the community and do our part to help flatten the curve,” Micetich said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending individuals wear a cloth face covering in public settings, like a grocery store, where social distancing is difficult to maintain. The use of a cloth covering can not only help slow the spread of COVID-19, but help those who are unaware they have the virus from transmitting it to others.