Mask Making

Individual Mask Making Efforts are Making a Difference too

April 27, 2020 by Lauren Rosh

Last in a Three-Part Series Spotlighting Mask-Making Efforts

Stopping the Spread of COVID-19 One Mask at a Time

As the first two parts of our series on the efforts to create ‘PPE’ communicated, there are tens of thousands of masks and now additional gear being produced in highly coordinated efforts by Tri-State Mask Making and Masks and More. Over the course of writing this series, we also learned of impressive individual efforts taking place. Arlete Chaves and Mara Antonio are among those who did not expect to be sewing masks for family, neighbors, employers and friends. Chaves and Antonio donate to those urgently in need, or for the most minimal fees. Each day, they are still fielding requests from many eager to have every day protection.

Arlete Chaves is a babysitter and dog sitter in Ossining. She learned there was a mask shortage and knew people were in need of them. She took matters into her own hands and began making masks. The skills she developed from sewing doll dresses as a young girl translate well into making secure and sterile masks.

She has made over 100 so far, primarily donating the masks to elderly people in her community, those who are immunocompromised and those working in essential businesses such as supermarkets.

Chaves is also selling them for $10 a mask to people locally. She needs to sell in order to continue to buy materials for the masks she sews and donates. She advertises mainly on Facebook.

“I want to help as much as I can and that is why I am sewing masks. I see people in need and this way I can give them an opportunity to not get sick or if they are sick to not spread it to others,” said Chaves.

With big heart intentions too, Mara Antonio of Chappaqua began sewing masks after she heard about the Joann Fabric Make-to-Give initiative which encouraged people to pick up curbside kits to make masks and donate them to those who need them.

Antonio went twice to Peekskill to pick up the kits in the morning, completed them within a day and returned them the next morning ready for more.

From 2001 to 2011, Antonio worked at Susan Lawrence. As she was using the kits from Joann’s, someone close to her from Susan Lawrence asked if she would consider making masks for their employees.

“I agreed and I realized that I needed to re-organize my sewing/craft corner and be ready for more demand,” said Antonio.

She started by making the masks for Susan Lawrence and one of her friends who is a firefighter who posted the masks on the Chappaqua Moms page on Facebook. From that moment on, her initiative took off. She fulfills orders and makes an extra mask per order to donate to the Cancer Center at Northern Westchester Hospital.

Antonio wakes up at 8:30 a.m., quickly eats breakfast, turns on her favorite radio station from Argentina which is where she is from and begins sewing. She responds to questions, requests and sends pictures to her customers with fabric designs they can choose from.

Antonio takes occasional breaks to eat brief meals or take her dogs for a walk. She sews until about 3:30 a.m. then packages the orders, organizes her materials and places orders for materials that are running low. Antonio does not go to sleep until about 4 a.m. She has personally sewn hundreds of masks now.

“I don’t like to rush, I like whatever I make to be neatly made and presentable. It is a process from sourcing the materials, washing and drying fabrics prior to cutting for shrinkage and sanitation,” said Antonio.

Antonio sells the masks for $15 each to people locally. She purchases all materials out of pocket and places all of the fabric orders herself. She uses the money she makes from each mask to buy more materials so she can keep making them.

Antonio ensures that each time she puts a delivery out in the mailbox she disinfects the mailbox in order to avoid cross contamination. She runs this whole operation herself and is devoted to this initiative.

“It’s just me making these babies and I am loving every minute of it,” said Antonio.

MASKS & MORE: A Heartening County & Community Response is Helping Provide Personal Protective Equipment

April 23, 2020 by Lauren Rosh

The Demand for Personal Protective Equipment is High and People from Every Corner in the County are Helping Out.

FIRST in a Three-Part Series about efforts underway to protect those on the frontlines.

Right now, people are searching for ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In Westchester, and across the world, people are coming together to make masks and other PPE for their neighbors, those who are immunocompromised and frontline heroes. Despite being separate groups, there is no sense of competition among them. They are their own unified community; all just people who want to help those around them. Here’s a look at one such initiative that started in Westchester County that you can be a part of.

Masks & More: A Group Effort

Aparna Paladugu and Morris Mayer organized a Westchester-wide mask making effort called Masks & More. Armonk resident Laurie Anderson joined their team as a Northern Westchester coordinator. “It is unbelievable to me that our healthcare workers had to throw a plea online to get what they need. We just want to help,” said Anderson.

Mayer owns Park Plaza Interiors and when he closed his shop in Mamaroneck due to the pandemic, he devoted the space to making masks and transformed his home into a distribution center. His shop sews about 1,000 masks a week for health care workers on the frontlines and others in need.

Paladugu is a retired psychiatrist who now coordinates, organizes and communicates with everyone involved with Masks & More. Mayer’s neighbor who wanted to start making masks contacted Paladugu. After talking to Mayer, the two decided to combine their efforts. All masks that Masks & More makes go to Mayer’s home for distribution.

“We make sure we have a contact at the hospital or health care facility. It is key so the masks make it to where they need to go,” said Anderson.

Medical residents Drs David Iffy and Ashish Goel at Brookdale University Hospital, Brooklyn, wearing efforts of Mask & More volunteers. Cotton Masks go over and help protect scarce N-95 masks.

Caroline Loeb of Mount Kisco in her home sewing masks for frontline warriors.

They have distributed more than 6,000 masks in Westchester, New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Tennessee. As of April 18, via a nationwide network of upholstery shops that Mayer is a part of, 70,592 masks were made and distributed across the United States.

“We would not be so successful today in making masks and distributing without the enthusiasm of so many volunteers who selflessly started sewing using their own funds to buy material and make masks,” said Paladugu.

The group makes two different types of masks: one with a pocket for frontline workers and one without for seniors or health care workers not on the frontlines. Anderson’s main responsibility is a runner. She makes sure everyone has what they need and delivers the masks.

Nextdoor is an online platform where people can link up with others in their area to get information about goods and services. Anderson got involved with Paladugu and Mayer’s efforts after seeing a doctor post on Nextdoor asking for masks.

Since transforming his store into a distribution center, Mayer has been paying his employees and paying for materials out of pocket and funds are running low. For more information and to donate, please visit: https://www.smilesforsaige.com/plaza-park-interiors

If you would like to get involved, please visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1F_04aoZ7Af09yAJ9rAAS0I57Fqg3BIUlOTMU78s6NI8/viewform?edit_requested=true

Plus, here, a video on how to make masks for health care workers. Volunteers Katie and Eric Rauch created this for Masks & More.

The Joy of Growing Up Here and the Beauty of Returning Home to Chappaqua

April 20, 2020 by Megan Klein

The Sense of Community ‘Boomerangs’ Feel has Been Heightened During this Time of Coronavirus

Chappaqua, NY — Townies. Every town has them. Here, maybe they are those who frequent The Kittle House every weekend for brunch or those who go to Wednesday night summer concerts even when it’s raining and they’re held indoors – the loyalist of fans.

What many people don’t realize is that each town is made up of the Real Townies, the Boomerangs. The people who were born and raised, scored their first goal, had their first kiss, went to prom and graduated from high school all in the same town, returning so their kids could do the same.

Try imagining Chappaqua without a nail salon or pizza place around every corner. It’s hard, but that’s what these Boomerangs had to grow up with. They had Family Britches for their suit needs and Lickety Split for their sweet hankerings.

Of course, ever since COVID-19, we have all been living like a Boomerang without having access to the nail salons or the luxury of walking into Lange’s and seeing everybody we know. Despite losing all of our typical routines and days, it’s not so hard knowing that we are living in an incredibly united community.

Just look at how the town came together to help raise funds to support local restaurants and healthcare workers. Within a week, we were able to raise over $60,000. It’s now been almost a month and over $100,000 and 3,000 meals have been provided!

Eileen Kloper Cohen, a Greeley graduate and current Chappaqua resident, is grateful to be living in a community like ours in a time like this.

“I see many Facebook groups formed quickly to contribute to the critical mask making efforts. People sharing sewing machines, fabrics, elastics and other supplies to help in this. I see a new Chappaqua Facebook page to help others in our town with information which has been changing each day. Where to find specific items that are hard to find, where you can drive up and not get out of your car, and things like that. I do see people pulling together and trying to help one another.”

I personally had a hard time growing up understanding the “hype” around living here. I’ve grown up in a house that is 1.2 miles down the road from my dad’s childhood home. I’ve heard about the ‘crazy’ times my dad and his friends had at ‘that house’ down ‘that road’ on ‘that night’ back in the 80’s. I’ve asked my dad, why? Why do we live here, when we could be living anywhere else?

His answer was simple. “It was nice to have my parents be able to babysit whenever I wanted.” Good one Dad. Besides that perk, the proximity to the city and the memories of his great childhood made him realize that’s what he wanted his children to experience too.

Although most can’t imagine leaving their childhood home to simply relocate to a new one down the road, lots did it.

One of those kids was Cohen, Greeley ‘85. “I thought I was leaving not to be back except to visit my parents. We ended up buying a house from somebody who I used to carpool with to religious school and I ended up moving a mile and a half from my parents.”

While raising three kids here, she watched the town grow bigger, more organized and backed with more community support. Most importantly, Cohen wanted her kids to experience the amazing, competitive education that she did.

“All the reasons people choose to live in Chappaqua now are the same reasons people did back then.” And like her daughter’s senior musical production of High School Musical this year said, “we are all in this together!”

Julie Langer Lowitz (right) and her best friend Cathy Volpato Forstl

Julie Langer Lowitz, Greeley ‘84, is yet another local who gravitated toward Chappaqua because of her parents and how much she loved it as a kid.

The sense of community that Chappaqua provides in times of need, such as power outages or bus stop emergencies is Lowitz’s favorite part about raising a family here.

“We have met so many wonderful people since 1995 when we bought our house – they feel like family…”

Naturally, there are differences in the childhood memories of someone who grew up here now versus then. Lowitz noted the increase of traffic, houses and people, and Cohen mentioned the build-up of developments such as Hardscrabble Lake and Random Farms – which makes me wonder, where did people go trick or treating back then without those two?!

In terms of socializing, Cohen reminisced about the Wampus Pond parties, seeing bands play or simply meeting in town to get candy. Now, “it seems as if people need to be more stimulated,” to have fun.

Eric Green, ‘88, moved back for both the sense of community and the schooling, and he feels as if our town’s school does a great job of embodying both of those things. “Greeley is one of the most unique high schools anywhere… [It] recreationally, educationally and socially [gets] you prepared for what is next,” he said.

What’s next for the upcoming generation of Boomerangs? We’ll see.

I for one, couldn’t wait to get out of town when I was growing up. I was tired of being surrounded by the same people and hearing the same things. However, after going away to college, each time I come home I love it more and more. I started to think, “Oh man, I’m going to end up here, aren’t I?” Mom, Dad, start looking for houses about a mile down the road; you’re not getting rid of me that easy.

As for now, I’ll just savor each moment I return. And until I can leave my house again, I guess I will savor each moment that I am quarantined here! Soon, I will be able to see everyone I know in the Walgreens parking lot, get french toast from Le Jardin and of course, a Klein sandwich from Lange’s.