Auntie Sewing Squad Producing Masks for Communities
What began as a single effort in March by Kristina Wong, a Los Angeles performance artist, has now become a group 500 strong. Wong started sewing cloth masks, and creating awareness, for low income communities and health care workers hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Auntie Sewing Squad,” which includes some “uncles” too, has become a resource for sewers nationwide to contribute to the mask making effort. The network of volunteers is distributing them free of charge to high-risk communities. To date, they have sewn and shipped over 50,000 masks. For the sewers, it gives a sense of pride they’re doing something to help others during this difficult time. Comments on their Facebook page have been very moving, including requests from front-line workers and vulnerable groups in need of masks. In order to keep up with the increasing demand, the group is now fundraising via Donation Box to cover supply costs and has raised over $36,000 of their $50,000 goal.
Ann Sullivan is a contributing staff writer covering national and world news topics. She brings dedicated experience having written international and domestic news, blogs, and web content for over 20 years. She’s also a published poet and graphic designer with degrees in Business and Graphic Communications and has been a music distributor, music industry sponsorship sales director and band manager.