Mask Crusaders to the Rescue! (Too)

Capitola/Soquel/Scotts Valley Update

By Jondi Gumz

When Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel announced that she would require people at essential businesses to wear face coverings to reduce the spread of the contagious coronavirus COVID-19, the Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 Center asked for help.

The agency posted a request at the SC Mask Sewers Facebook group founded by Santa Cruz residents Penny Cotter, Lisa Locatelli, and Joann Hughes.

Soon, the 9-1-1 Center posted “we have received so much community support and (heart emoji) … we have enough masks for our staff based on what we have received and what we are going to get.”

The face-covering mandate, which applies to anyone over age 12 going out in public and engaging with others, is effective April 25.

Cotter, a childcare provider, hasn’t been working; that business was deemed non-essential in the health officer’s March 16 order to shelter in place. But she knew masks were needed because she has a friend who works at a hospital. She knew sewing because she helped her mom, Sharon Ciraulo, 74, when she owned the Felton Fabric Store.

Now she’s the hub of a group that in a month has grown to 330 people, a virtual community of mask makers helping everyone cover up, so to speak.

In Capitola, she counts on Betty Lopez, a friend since their Girl Scout days.

“She taught me how to sew,” said Lopez, 62. “We do a lot of crafting together.”

Nowadays, that togetherness is all online, as people stay at home and avoid face-to-face interactions to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

Lopez is staying home with her daughter and 3-year-old grandson, who live with her. Ordinarily she would drive a shuttle at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, but the amusement park closed March 13 to slow the spread of COVID-19. She doesn’t think it will reopen anytime soon.

Her volunteer gig, taking senior citizens to the grocery, the bank and the hairdresser, is on hiatus, too.

So she’s putting her time to good use.

“Some days I sit at the table and sew and sew and sew,” she said. “Oh my goodness, my back hurts.”

She welcomed the chance to provide masks for FedEx Capitola. That’s where she goes once a week to drop off a package for her daughter in Houston.

Ciraulo sews masks when she’s not working as a caregiver at La Posada, the assisted living facility in Santa Cruz.

“Anything I can do, I’m willing to do,” Ciraulo said. “Penny usually takes the orders, the rest of us just sew.”

She was prepared to help.

“You know how fabric people are, we always have a back stock,” she said.

Ciraulo said she wears a mask and gloves when working with her clients at La Posada, some in their 90s. Some requested she sew them a mask.

“They don’t want to get that nasty flu,” she said, noting meals are no longer in the dining room but delivered to individual rooms.

Scotts Valley

When the contagious coronavirus COVID-19 became concerning in March, Scotts Valley resident Kristie Shulman was asked by friends, family and healthcare workers to make masks for them.

A member of the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association for 18 years, she knew her way around a sewing machine and she had plenty of fabric.

Similar requests were made of her friends in the quilting guild, which has more than 300 members countywide.

“Then we got a really big request – 2,000 masks for the Santa Cruz County Medical Society,” Shulman said. “We decided to take that on.”

She teamed up with Nancy Gonzalez-Caro to coordinate the project, organizing at the end of March, eventually recruiting 80 people, mostly from the quilt association, to meet that need.

The pvqa.org website, under “Outreach,” describes the mask project and has a form to request masks and a signup form for people who want to make masks.

Sara Diepersloot, owner of Modern Handmade, a quilters’ shop on Scotts Valley Drive, “made a generous donation of fabric — many, many yards,” Shulman said.

After the 2,000 masks were delivered to the medical society, requests came in from other organizations, so the volunteer mask-makers are still hard at work.

Hundreds more have been delivered to Salud Para La Gente, Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Housing Matters, Senior Network Services, Volunteer Center, and Sutter Maternity and Surgical Center.

As of April 30, Santa Cruz County reported 131 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 19 requiring hospitalization at some point, two deaths, 88 recovered, and 3,573 negative test results.

The state database reported two people currently hospitalized in Santa Cruz County, including one confirmed case in intensive care, down from nine in April.

Starting April 25, Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel mandated face coverings for everyone over the age of 12 as a preventive measure. Officials said a face covering can keep people who have the virus but no symptoms from spreading it to others.

Recommended

Masks, or face coverings, were recommended April 3 by the federal Centers for Disease Control for people going out to grocery stores and pharmacies to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has been fatal for people with heart disease, asthma or diabetes.

The Domo.com COVID-19 tracker reports 233,000 deaths worldwide, including 63,000 deaths in the U.S. and 2,014 in California, where early projections overestimated the number of deaths and hospitalizations.

Shulman estimates the guild’s effort has produced 3,000 masks so far.

“We’re working on 1,000 for In-Home Supportive Services,” she said, referring to county workers who help people with disabilities and frail elderly in their homes with personal care, shopping for groceries and preparing meals, cleaning and doing laundry.

Getting elastic, which holds the mask around the ears, was difficult for a while but now elastic has been available to order online.

For people with less sewing experience, Shulman has kits available for pickup.

“It feels good to be able to do something to help,” she said. “We’re all home, we have time… so why not?”

Members of the Pajaro Valley Quilt Association have taken on another project: Sewing 150 isolation gowns for Santa Cruz County Health Services. Each loose-fitting garment requires about four yards of polyester/cotton fabric, which the county ordered and paid for. The fabric is cut with a laser cutter, faster than doing it by hand.

Helen Klee and Lori Camner, who agreed to organize this project, have 35 people signed up and waiting for the fabric.

SC Mask Sewers

Yet another way for people to help is to join the SC Mask Sewers Facebook group founded by Santa Cruz residents Penny Cotter, Lisa Locatelli, and Joann Hughes.

Cotter is a childcare provider, but that business was deemed non-essential in the health officer’s March 16 order to shelter in place.

She knew masks were needed because she has a friend working at a hospital. She knew sewing because she helped her mom, Sharon Ciraulo, 74, when she owned the Felton Fabric Store.

Now Cotter is the hub of a group that has grown to 362 people, a virtual community of mask makers helping everyone cover up, so to speak.

Some people don’t sew but they have donated fabric or thread. Others take care of deliveries.

On the Facebook group, volunteers ask for help; “What am I doing wrong? This doesn’t pleat right,” and advice; “Can these be used for a nose bridge? Twist ties from the grocery store.” And they get plenty of answers.

Sometimes they share bits of humor, advice from the 1949 Singer sewing manual – “never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade,” and a photo of a cat at a sewing machine.

Requests are often handled geographically. Her friend and fellow crafter Betty Lopez is the point person in Capitola along with Sharon Ciraulo. Christina Amaya and Kristie Shulman are busy in Scotts Valley. Jehna Caron in Aptos teamed up with her neighbor, Chrissy Cyr, to make masks for workers at Deluxe Foods.

Lopez is staying home with her daughter and 3-year-old grandson, who live with her. Ordinarily she would drive a shuttle at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, but the amusement park closed March 13 to slow the spread of COVID-19. She doesn’t think it will reopen anytime soon.

Her volunteer gig, taking senior citizens to the grocery, the bank and the hairdresser, is on hiatus, too. So she’s putting her time to good use.

Ciraulo sews masks when she’s not working as a caregiver at La Posada, the assisted living facility in Santa Cruz.

“Anything I can do, I’m willing to do,” Ciraulo said. “Penny usually takes the orders, the rest of us just sew.”

Making a Difference

Dominican Oaks, the assisted living facility for the elderly, asked for 200 masks. So did the Metro bus service.

Salud Para La Gente, the nonprofit healthcare clinic, asked for 100. Womencare, the nonprofit that supports women with cancer, asked for 50 – and then 50 more.

Recently, more than 500 masks were delivered, arriving at Brookdale Senior Living in Scotts Valley, Zoccoli’s Deli and Dominican home services in Santa Cruz, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Just this week, Grace Mora of Grey Bears asked for 100 masks for people who deliver meals to elders, a plea seen by Carol Stephen who offered to help.

“I would say Monday at the latest,” Cotter posted in return.

Cotter thanked everyone with a post: “It is so amazing how we can all come together at our own pace and help our community out with masks.”