Volunteers Sew Over 1,800 Masks For Medford Students

MEDFORD, MA — A dozen Medford parents and school nurses partnered to sew more than 1,800 cloth masks for students for the upcoming school year. The idea came after Medford High School nurse Jennifer Silva read a post on Facebook offering free cloth face masks and recognized the need for them in school.

Tamar Siegal served as coordinator of the group and contacted school PTO presidents for donations of material, elastic and thread. These volunteers sewed more than 1,800 cloth face masks of varying sizes and design. One parent, Sarah MacMillan, sewed face masks with a vinyl window for children who require speech therapy.

The volunteers who spent their summer sewing include Cheryl Rodrigues, Angela Maunsell Moore, Becca Eshelman, Elizabeth Remick, Faye Kolin, Hadley Langosy, Jane Hamel and daughter Sydney, Julie Parker, Rebecca Gutwin, Sara MacMillan, Christa Lucas and Tamar Siegal.

"I am extremely grateful for this donation in kind. The district is requiring all students to wear a cloth face mask while at school and for many families, meeting this requirement may be a financial challenge," Supervisor of Health Services Toni Wray said in a statement. "We also anticipate children may lose or soil their mask during the school day and need a replacement. The results of this partnership will provide cloth face masks for Medford students across all schools in their time of need."

This post was written using information from the MPS Blog.