The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on our health, our economy, our social interactions, and our psyches. No possible good can come from it, right? Well, there is a group of people who would disagree with you.
The group, organized under the name of Making Masks in Norwood, has rallied nearly 500 people who have contributed in some way to their cause. They are responding to the fact that masks are desperately needed by the medical community, first responders, nursing homes, and many others who are on the front lines of this pandemic, and they are committed to helping until the need is satisfied – no matter how long that takes! Alone in their homes, volunteers are working together to support doctors and nurses caring for potential coronavirus patients.
How did it all start? In late March, Susan Clare, Director of Together Yes, a local sustainability group, was reading the Facebook page of Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Several groups were starting to make masks at that time and she thought that others in Town might want to help out. Rather than create a log jam on their Facebook page, she created one called Making Masks in Norwood to share ideas in health care, public safety, and other topics with which the public might be concerned. Today, there are about 500 followers of that group.
As she requested help with different tasks, people stepped forward contributing expertise that would be needed to accomplish the objectives of the group – getting masks out to everyone who needs them! Despite obstacles of social distancing, Norwood Bank quickly established a bank account for the group. People were needed to sew the masks, donate materials, and/or money to purchase materials, couriers/drivers to pick up and deliver raw and finished materials, volunteers to cut and kit the materials, advisors to determine which materials and patterns were best and what to stay way from, people who were comfortable with outreach, and those who could help with technology, inventory management and logistics.
“The response was overwhelming,” Clare said.
There were some rough patches in setting up a coherent system, but those have been ironed out and the team has morphed into a well-oiled machine, with a core leadership. Susan Clare is the conductor. Her alter-ego is Casey Segien Russo, an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) Team Chair for the Norton school system who said she does not sew but she is good at organizing. She has become the point of contact for the volunteers and coordinates all of the group’s activities. She communicates daily with the volunteers, sending out text messages to the group and compiling the overall inventory at the end of the day.
Kandi Finch, owner of All Things Considered, who formerly managed supply chain distribution and logistics systems of medical products throughout the US, helped set up the structure and logistics needed to maximize the time and talents of each volunteer.
Finch makes lists for the six drivers/couriers. Each day, all drivers make sure they have the right inventory for their deliveries and restocks as necessary. Finch herself is on the road every day, with her dog Charley riding shotgun. The day I finally caught up with her she had just taken someone into Boston for dialysis and was getting ready to make local deliveries. Her day begins before 7 a.m. and usually doesn’t end until after 7 p.m.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” Finch said. “All the people who have stepped up are amazing, too. If I was still working [in Corporate America], I’d hire every single one of them.”
How long will she be committed to the effort?
“As long as there’s a need, I’ll be there,” Finch immediately replied.
The rest of the courier team includes, Joe Greeley, Dawn Fitzgerald, Jeanne Nolan, Sarah Quinn, and Susan Jacobs-Marshalsea, president of S Jacobs Plumbing LLC, who, in addition to deliveries, is also working to handle plumbing emergencies and is straight-out! She has also been instrumental in connecting her business contacts with the group through the Neponset River Regional Chamber of Commerce (formerly the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce).
Cashman Kerr Prince and Marg Corjay are serving as advisors, researching the best materials to use for the masks and the best methods for sewing them. According to Clare and Russo, Corjay is prolific in her production of masks.
“Marg’s output is beyond compare,” Russo said. “She can sew as many as 60 masks in one day.”
Because of her expertise and knowledge about fabrics, she also handles most of the quality checks for the group.
Erica Messias handles all outreach, receiving requests and passing them along to Russo as well as fielding questions that come in to the Facebook page.
Only a dozen people have been named in this article, but a great many more have actually contributed to this effort in some way – from sewing masks, to washing and cutting fabric, to knitting materials, to donating materials and/or money to purchase them, and many who are reaching out with encouragement to support the group’s efforts.
Russo said she has requests for masks from 75 agencies, but they have prioritized distribution according to need with hospitals, direct care staff and first responders taking priority. As of April 15, 2,250 masks have been made and distributed in and around Norwood. Donations to date include all of the nursing homes in Norwood (The Ellis, Charwell House, Victoria Haven, and Golden Living Center), Norwood Police, Norwood Light Department, Norwood DPW, Sunrise Assisted Living, Benchmark, Norwood and Walpole Councils on Aging, Senior Care, Norwood Food Services and Food Service for Schools, HESSCO, local funeral homes, several group homes, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, South Shore Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, Carney Hospital, Faulkner Hospital, West Roxbury VA Hospital, Norfolk County Jail, and about 400 units at Norwood Hospital. The group is currently working on completing masks for the Norwood Fire Department.
Russo said this is a “true picture of a group effort.” Most volunteers are from Norwood, but there are also supporters from Westwood, Walpole, Canton, Dedham, and Hyde Park as well.
“We couldn’t do this without all of the volunteers,” Russo said. “That also includes the donations we’ve received from local businesses, such as Ocean State Job Lot, Dollar Tree, and Staples which prints the washing/care instructions that are stapled to each mask before delivery.
Clare said Norwood Masks still needs people who can sew – that’s their most urgent need. They also need fabric donations of tightly woven 100% cotton, 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch elastic (which is very difficult to come by due to the heavy demand), and lightweight interfacing.
“We are also happy to receive financial donations if people are able,” Russo said. “Any money left over at the end of this journey will be donated to the Circle of Hope.”
To learn how to donate time, materials, or money, contact [email protected] or visit their Facebook page: Making Masks in Norwood.
Nurse Dympna Egan O’Carroll summed up the feelings many of us have about this group of volunteers.
“The time, dedication and commitment of this group lifts our spirits,” Egan O’Carroll said. “We face the unknown every single day and I know that I am uplifted knowing that there is an army of soldiers, behind the scenes, virtually lifting us up and strengthening our resolve so that we can go in and do our jobs. You should all be very proud of how quickly and efficiently you have mobilized. It is truly remarkable and a strong indicator of how a community, in its truest sense of the word, can work. Thank you!”
Donna Lane is a Norwood-based writer, lecturer and designer. You can reach her at [email protected].