Local Expert Blog: Helping Our Community Stitch By Stitch

“Look for the helpers.”

This resonating piece of advice from Fred Rogers (who many of us know as Mr. Rogers) continues to comfort during uncertain and scary times.

When you stop and look for the helpers in the Windsor-Essex community, who do you see? If you listen carefully, you may hear the hum of, not one, but many sewing machines.

That’s the sound of the Windsor-Essex Sewing Force (WESF)! The WESF is a growing volunteer network dedicated to providing homemade protective equipment (HPE) when proper PPE is not available to Windsor and Essex County healthcare workers and to the community at large. To date, the WESF has sewn more than 16,000 masks, investing more than $120,000 of its own resources.

By working with research partners, healthcare systems, and scientific literature to create improved mask designs and patterns, they are happy to share improved designs, recommended materials, and resources with the community.

As for those from vulnerable groups (seniors, the unemployed, migrant workers, and people with disabilities) who lack access to high-quality, reusable masks, the work of the WESF is even more critical.

Currently, WESF’s goal is to sew another 30,000 masks by September to meet community health needs.

Now, when you look for the helpers, you can see yourself.

Help WESF meet their goal and keep their sewing machines running by doing the following:

1. Volunteer
2. Donate

Remember: Everyone needs a mask. But, more importantly, more masks are required. 

Sponsored by Windsor-Essex Sewing Force. For more details, check out their website or Facebook page.