Welcome to Masks for Humanity
The shortage of medical-grade PPE for our health care and other essential workers is outrageous.
We are here to help.
You are here because you care.
Thank you for being here.
We began Masks for Humanity to create a hub for people needing handmade face masks and people making handmade facemasks.
Our ecosystem is made up of frontliners who need PPE, makers pulling out their sewing machines, groups forming to help, craft supply allies offering supplies, and anyone who needs information about where to donate medical-grade PPE.
We want to use this blog to highlight the amazing things happening in this ecosystem of solidarity. We will be sharing stories that inspire us, information from good sources, and more details about what we are learning as we all come together in this strange time.
As you probably have also experienced, information is changing and evolving everyday. We are trying to keep up with the latest and tweaking our services, if need be.
Right now, here’s how Masks for Humanity works:
CONNECTORS/EVERYONE: That’s all of us!
Share this project widely.
Call, email, skype, write friends and family on the frontlines and see if they need to request homemade masks or other crafted PPE.
Contact all sewers you know to get involved and also sign up for updates.
If you see an article about a group making handmade masks, reach out to them and see if they want to be shared on Masks for Humanity.
The more people who know, the more people we can help. Follow us, share, tag us, and all that good stuff on: Instagram , Twitter and Facebook (#masks4humanity and @masks4humanity). Or, send this email to your network.
FRONTLINERS: Healthcare workers, shelters, first responders, grocery clerks, delivery groups, etc. can easily request handmade masks by pattern and number per batch.
MAKERS: Individual crafters can make handmade face masks and other items that frontline organizations specifically want. Because specific patterns and numbers per package are listed on the requests, makers can decide which requests fit their own skills and supplies. (If you know a maker who is uncomfortable making masks, but is happy to make gowns, this is the place for them). Makers can also learn about other maker- groups who want to help and may already be local to them, and find other information like legitimate sources to donate any medical-grade PPE their friends, family, or neighbors may have.
MAKER-GROUPS: Groups are popping up across the country making all sorts of handmade PPE, and they can be hard to find. Masks for Humanity is a place to amplify their work, so we can all know what they are doing and jump in.
CRAFT SUPPLIERS: Businesses are hurting and many are ready to send needed supplies. We want to make it easier for everyone to find one another. In the first day of going live, masks4humanity.org received over 175,000 handmade face mask requests. The need is scarily real.
Thank you for being part of the project.
In solidarity,
Jayna Zweiman and the entire Masks for Humanity team