Since May, Beverly Ramsey has made over 4,000 masks and gives them away every Sunday, starting at 10:00 am. Quickly, they are gone. Beverly is an early childhood educator (and also a paralegal) who lost her position when COVID came along and childcare centers had to close. To focus on something productive, she recruited her mom to help her sew masks. Beverly first started using up the cotton fabric from her sewing room and made about 75 masks a week. Lately, she has been sewing 350 a week, which, even she admits, is a little daunting. Now, Beverly purchases fabric and focuses on a weekly theme. The theme for the past week was baseball. Previous themes have been, voting, dogs, cats, music, and sharks- to name a few. When we asked her how many she makes a day, she said that she can't really answer that because they set up a sort of assembly line and one day may be a day for cutting fabric and another for sewing. While there is no fee for the masks, she depends on donations to keep the project going.
On the day we were there, people were thanking Beverly and telling her how much they enjoy the masks. Some were getting masks for family members, friends, and friends of friends. Admittedly, we took a few extra to give to people who weren't able to get out and get one for themselves.Greensboro is so lucky to have people like Beverly who help bring people together and are community oriented. Beverly says she loves hanging out in her yard on Sunday mornings, enjoying the fellowship with people who stop by for masks. This mask maker extraordinaire lives on Sylvan Road in Sunset Hills, just off Elam. Let's hope she receives enough donations to continue offering masks to the community and help get us through the COVID times. Also, as businesses start reopening, let's hope someone needs a very generous, community-oriented early childhood educator or paralegal!
A splendid portrait shot.
Posted by: William Kendall | Monday, September 28, 2020 at 02:59 PM