‘Our hearts are full’: Stanislaus County families are making masks at rapid pace
Sailda native Ashley Borjon has made nearly 800 masks in the last two weeks.
The mother of three has worked around the clock to make them in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Patricia Kay Beaver School sixth-grader Ilyana Vidal, or “Ily” as she’s called, is an avid sewer and was asked by family and friends if she could make masks.
“She goes on YouTube and watches a tutorial and in a day or two, she had perfected it,” Vidal’s mom, Leticia, said. “As soon as she knew there was need for it, the rest was history.”
With a need for masks, or face coverings, virtually everywhere (Los Angeles just made an order requiring shoppers and workers to wear masks at essential businesses), several people in and around Modesto have stepped up to help make and donate them.
How one Facebook post started it all
On March 20, Borjon posted on Facebook that she would be making two types of masks.
The first type had three layers of polypropylene fabric inside with an optional moldable nose strip while the second would be four layers and have a pocket to add the N95 filter for health care professionals.
Borjon was selling the first group of masks for $10 or any amount that people could donate so she could give the masks to health care workers at little to no cost.
That Facebook post has been shared nearly 100 times and Borjon has turned her house into a mask-making workshop.
“I told my husband that I would make enough masks to end up on Ellen (DeGeneres Show),” Borjon jokingly said. “My goal was 1,000 but now it’s 2,000.”
When she first started, she thought maybe a person would want “one or two,” not dozens.
On April 11, Borjon donated 90 to the San Francisco Fire Department and has sent 60 to emergency room nurses in Texas and 22 to ER nurses in New York.
From start to finish, Borjon said it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to make a mask and she makes between 60 and 65 per day.
With children home from school (ages 3, 5, and 7), it could be challenging for Borjon to have time to make the masks but she said her children are becoming more independent and her oldest has helped the younger ones with getting dressed and planning other activities.
On average, she said she sleeps about “four” hours a night and wakes up to do it all again.
“It’s one of those things that feels kind of rewarding,” Borjon said. “There are so many messages from people who have said I am doing something really great.”
Ceres youth just always wants to help
Ily Vidal was recently named the Youth Citizen of the Year by the Ceres Chamber of Commerce.
Before sewing masks, she sewed and donated baby blankets to local neonatal intensive care units.
“My parents have always implemented that it’s always best to try and give back when we can,” Vidal said.
The mask-making process has become a Vidal family affair as Leticia helps sew while dad, Steve, and sister, Della, cut fabric and ribbon.
Leticia said the family has made over 200 masks.
“My mom had told me a bunch of people were asking and we really wanted to jump on it and in this time, we all need to band together,” Ily said.
The first person to reach out about masks was Ily’s teacher, who then asked if she could make 25 for her friend who works at a hospital in San Jose.
While making masks, Ily said she listens to musicals or Disney songs (“Show Yourself” from “Frozen 2” is her favorite right now) and said the time spent creating has taken her mind off of school being closed for the rest of the year.
Two Modesto sisters spend more time with each other
Modesto sisters Diane Davis and Stephanie Miller have large families and don’t get to spend as much time with each other as they’d like.
But, since the two started making masks earlier this month, they are making up for lost time.
“It keeps us busy and we are high-energy people,” Miller said.
They have made over 250 masks and, in addition to family and friends, they’ve donated them to an adult group home in Empire, members of the Geneva Presbyterian Church and Sutter Gould Medical Foundation workers.
“When life changes with (COVID-19), making and donating these masks makes it more tolerable and enjoyable because we feel like we have a purpose,” Davis said.
Family members have also helped by going out to stores to buy supplies such as headbands or elastic.
While the work can be tiring, Miller said it’s rewarding.
“I know we have sore hands, backs, and eyes, but our hearts are full,” Miller said.
Others who have helped
Here are some others in the community — and certainly not all — who have made masks:
- Lauren Bettencourt has made over 300 for health care workers.
- Meryl Ethier Britton Snider has donated over 100 and is working on her next 100 for hospice members.
- Sacred Heart Elementary School teacher Tom Oakley has made masks and face protective screens and donated them to local health care workers.
- Modesto City Schools employees Sandra Fagundes, Dinah Henschel, and Kelly Nunes have made over 200.
- Sandy Swegles has made over 70. “I get joy of thinking of the person who will wear them when I make them and then the double joy of when they get them,” she said.
- Kristine Fallentine who owns Kristine’s Designer Clothing in Oakdale, has donated masks to customers, local rehab care centers, grocery store workers, and Oak Valley Hospital.
Soroptimist International of Modesto organization has made masks for local women’s shelters.
Ernestine Banks, Sydney Arnett, and Ruth Bright, are also making masks and donating them to the community.
Making it a competition
The city of Turlock created a mask-making competition for residents.
The rules are simple.
A resident makes a creative mask and then posts a picture on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag, #turlockmakeamask.
There will be one winner each week and they will be chosen by the mayor and city council on April 16, April 23, April 30, May 7 and May 14.
The winner will have a dinner for six delivered to their front door from a local restaurant of their choosing.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 10:32 AM.
