Today’s love story is dedicated to the participants of the Lafayette Mask Brigade! The project has been led by Susan Goldie of sewnow! Fashion Studio, Kathy Bowles of the Lafayette Community Foundation (LCF) and Anne Birdsong at Rotary Club of Lafayette, Ca. This volunteer team of local, experienced “sewists” has quietly come together with the goal of creating up to 2,000 free masks for nonmedical essential responders in our town. Whether it is delivering food to, or working with, housebound seniors, serving meals to the homeless and the unemployed, working with adults with disabilities, or keeping our grocery stores running, these are organizations that otherwise would not have access to protective masks. 

To get started, the Lafayette Rotary was critical to receiving an important initial donation for supplies. Other local businesses and organizations like the Lafayette Chamber, Diablo Foods, and the Love Lafayette as well as private citizens and many of the “sewists” pitched in with further financial support. 

To ensure every mask was made to the highest standard possible in a cottage industry of this kind, the Brigade added 3 critical new members: local custom tailors Joseph Jamkochian of Creative Alterations and Carlos Gomez of Moises Gomez, and Linda Morris of the Cotton Patch. The core team worked around the clock to precut fabric and create kits of 40 masks each, for “sewists” to complete at home. Many worked 10 hours at a sitting to meet the urgent and increasing need; 880 masks were ultimately delivered in that first week of April 6. By April 20, the Lafayette Mask Brigade will be on track for meeting its 2,000 mask goal.