Huge Donation of Masks to ACC is Simply Breathtaking

By Linda Revilla

At the start of the pandemic, medical personal protective equipment (PPE) was in short supply. ACC sent a letter to volunteers requesting homemade cloth face masks for staff. People responded to the call in different ways.

Multiple people donated fabric. Audrey gave us a large bag of fabric, enough for hundreds of masks, that she had purchased for quilting. Several of our volunteers contacted their personal networks to ask for masks. Helen Yee is famous for organizing pickleball players; she sent the call to her friends, who responded in a big way. One group, The Masketeers, led by Nancy Floyd, made 300+ masks. They cut, ironed, pinned, made ties (because there was no elastic) and had a social distancing assembly system worked out. Sally made masks, too, and Jeannie ordered 100 surgical masks, which got held up for weeks in a postal center. More than 2 months after ordering, she delivered them to ACC Care Center.

Stephanie made 150+ masks. Her husband, Tim, who works for Instacart, would pick up fabric and elastic and return with bags of masks. Stephanie called herself a beginning sewer but became so proficient that she started selling masks via social media.

Frances Lee, one of ACC’s founders (she says if she wasn’t here on Day 1, she was here on Day 2), made more than 40 masks. Many of you will remember that Frances and her late husband, Wil, were a major part of ACC Bingo for decades. Frances’ masks included batik, floral, and you guessed, bingo fabric! Gee made 100 masks from Audrey’s and Jeri’s fabric. Years ago, Gee’s aunty would salvage scraps thrown away at the San Francisco sweatshop where she worked. Gee was one of the few who had a large supply of elastic, a legacy from her aunty.

Angela gave us our first Hello Kitty Masks. Bev, who was featured in another story on mask makers by the Bee, gave us Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Raiders masks, among others. Her husband, Ernie, was one of our very first ACC Rides volunteers, way back in the early 2000s.

ACC Board members answered the call. Betty found the holy grail- a large spool of elastic! She donated fabric and sewed 75+ masks. Linda also donated fabric and other notions, and Jean and Tim donated masks. Tim’s masks included Batman fabric, reminding us that not all superheroes wear masks. Some help sew them. Kristen from Portland mailed us a box with Pokemon, Superman, Marvel, Hawaiian, bowling, and Japanese fabric masks, something for everyone. She also enclosed this note, “To all the folks at ACC: We wish you safe and easy days during this challenging time. Wear these masks with love from our family. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication to keeping up spirits and remaining healthy.”

Jean made 55 masks; she used Hawaiian print and ladybug fabric that was donated by Betty. One day Jean dropped off some masks, and even brought lunch for some of the staff! Like other mask makers, Janet experimented with styles, different fabrics, and types of ties. She ripped up her old t-shirts to make ties. She stopped making masks for a while, and then picked it up again, because “it gave her something else to do.”

ACC Care Center staff Marissa made “ninja” masks, so did Patty (who was the administrator at the “Asian Community Nursing Home” many years ago) and Dr. Jeanette Okazaki. Dr. Jeanette made different styles of masks, so people could choose their favorite style.

We originally asked for 500 masks. Depending upon location and whether or not they do direct resident care or are in close contact (e.g. ACC Rides drivers) with residents or clients, staff wear N-95 masks, surgical masks, and/or cloth masks or a combination. We learned that a mask is usually good for 4-5 hours of wear. That means, for example, that our staff should use 2 masks each workday. We increased the number of masks for staff, so they didn’t have to constantly wash and air dry (to save the elastic).

Over 50 people created 1,700 cloth masks for us! But wait, there’s more! On May 7, ACC’s Big Day of Giving, APAPA founder CC Yin donated 4,000 surgical masks!

The overwhelming response means that in addition to the staff, all ACC Care Center, Maple Tree Village, and Greenhaven Terrace residents all received masks. Sometimes, we see Greenhaven Terrace residents sitting on our bench in front of our main building, social distancing and wearing masks.

We also had donations of surgical masks and face shields. Volunteers used their 3-D printers to create face shields and other materials for us. THANK YOU to everyone who donated their fabric, elastic, time, and talent to the ACC Mask Project. We are safer and our residents and clients are safer, because of you!

Thank you, mask and materials donors!