FACE MASK WARRIORS
ECU student leads local chapter of Face Mask Warriors
The first face mask Kay Faldet made took her 45 minutes. Now, the senior university studies student can churn one out on her sewing machine in 15 minutes. As the coordinator for the eastern North Carolina chapter of Face Mask Warriors, she’s helped make and deliver hundreds of masks per week.
Face Mask Warriors is a collaboration of more than 15,000 volunteers across the country donating much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that people wear cloth or fabric face masks when in public to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
“My motivation for doing it is to take care of the community,” Faldet said. “We can drastically reduce our number of infections if everyone wears a mask. Because there is a shortage of medical-grade PPE, this is the next best thing for the non-medical community to take care of themselves and save the PPE for medical settings.”
Faldet has been working with sewers in the Greenville area. The masks are made of tightly woven cotton with a double layer of polypropylene fabric for filters.
Faldet is the coordinator for the eastern North Carolina chapter of Face mask Warriors.
As coordinator, she has helped make and deliver hundreds of masks per week to Vidant Health.
The masks are made of tightly woven cotton with a double layer of polypropylene fabric for filters.
“This material is used in the original disposable surgical masks. We are trying to make them as safe as possible while still being able to wash them at home so they can be reused,” Faldet said.
The group drops off all masks at Vidant Health to be distributed. Some of the sewers also give masks directly to community members on request. All masks are free, but Faldet accepts donations to cover the cost of materials.
She is just one of the many Pirates stepping up to help the community during the pandemic. Read more Pirate stories here.
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