Making the Most of Their Time at Home

Three Seattle women explained why they decided to contribute their time to a project the Church of Scientology Seattle is running to provide masks for emergency workers. 

“I’ve been sewing since I was 10,” says Judy. The mother of three and grandmother of four ages 4 to 23 had “a whole bunch of fabric collected over the years.” She went through her stash and used everything that was appropriate and just as she was running out, a friend donated a box of fabric so she could keep on making 15 to 20 masks each a day.

She decided to take part in the project because “a lot of people out there don’t have access to things like this. It’s serving a good purpose because they’re reusable, they can be washed and they’re filling a need for people who are providing such a valuable service and who don’t have any other access to them otherwise.”

Linda is a second-generation Scientologist whose sister and brother, daughter and grandchildren are also members of the Church. Her work supervising building contracts is not considered “essential” so she is home now, riding out the pandemic.

“I started this by making some masks for my brother whose kids live in the Philippines,” she says. She found out they can’t go out without masks but there were none to be had there so she created and shipped masks over to them. She was looking for what she could do with the fabric she had left over and found out her Church was making and donating masks for emergency workers. 

She makes 50 masks a week—25 for the project and 25 that she sells to help make ends meet.

“I think it’s fabulous to do this because it’s very difficult to find masks here,” she says. “The people we’re making masks for are helping the homeless and other people who are neglected and left behind and what we are doing gives them the protection they need to do their jobs.”

Unlike the other two, Deanna is still at work in her job at the Port of Tacoma. She makes masks when she gets home from work. She began doing this because of the daughter of one of her co-workers.

“Her daughter works in a senior facility in Montana. They had no PPE (personal protection equipment) at all. While I was making masks to ship to Montana, I was researching the availability of masks and found out it is a much bigger situation than I thought.”

Unlike hospitals, long-term care facilities haven’t been stocking reserves of PPE. “If residents need that level of care, they send them to a hospital,” she says. But that’s all changed with the pandemic and these caregivers need to wear masks to ensure the safety of the residents and to ensure they don’t bring the virus home to their families.

“Another friend of mine became aware of the mask shortage from a Facebook group she belongs to, and she started making them. A lot of them went to the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

“Then I talked to my friend Zoe from my Church, the Church of Scientology in Seattle. She is an active member of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), and they told her the Salvation Army needs masks.

“The Salvation Army has a mission to care for homeless and low-income people. They are manning shelters and soup kitchens. They are at very high risk, so we are making as many masks as we can.”

Washington was the first state to report a COVID-19 case. Currently, over 12,000 people in the state have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

To assist with making face masks for donation, contact the Church at publicaffairs@churchofscientology.net and they will be put them to good use.

Prevention is important. The Church of Scientology has created its How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center to prevent the spread of illness and help people keep themselves and others well.

With the motto, “an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure,” the website includes information on how viruses and bacteria spread, how to properly wash your hands, the proper use of masks and gloves, social distancing tips, how to clean and sanitize your home, and what to do if you become sick or have symptoms.

The website is available in 17 languages and is offered as a public service by the Church of Scientology.