We Sew Masks with ❤️️
Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals is an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization providing personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Lisa Stanley
Ohio?!
Hello, fabulous sewists! We have a project we need your help with!
A few public schools in Atlanta are preparing for when children are able to be physically present in their classrooms. SMAH has been asked to help provide 500 reusable cotton masks for distribution to the students.
We are seeking 10 sewists who can each make 50 youth-sized masks and deliver them no later than Saturday, August 15th.
For more details on this project please visit the Facebook group at https://tinyurl.com/SMAH-FB-Group
A fantastic time lapse video of a SMAH volunteer making a mask from start to finish!
The University of Georgia Athletics Association joined forces with Georgia Power to create Power Profiles, where each week a UGA coach talks about an organization responding to the pandemic. About a month ago, SMAH was the featured organization. Here’s the link to the video showcasing our amazing group:
https://vimeo.com/421402542/c729fc6b61
We are so excited to announce the launch of our new website! Check it out in the link in our bio!
59,303 masks to 152 Atlanta area facilities as of June 12th!
As of June 16th, 2020, Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals is on temporary hiatus. We have put together an FAQ to answer the most common questions related to this change. You can find the rest of the FAQs in the “Announcements” section of our group Facebook page.
Why is SMAH going on hiatus?
We have seen a significant decrease in requests from healthcare facilities over the past several weeks. As of June 12th, thanks to the hard work and passion of our volunteers, we have fulfilled all open mask requests!
Additionally, since acquiring 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, SMAH’s admin team has been working diligently behind the scenes to ensure that we are prepared to serve the areas of greatest need within our community. This includes formalizing our organization’s leadership structure as required by the IRS for nonprofit status and solidifying plans to resume our organization’s normal operations if and when there is a second COVID-19 wave. We are also expanding our mission to serve other (non-healthcare) essential workers and vulnerable members of our society.
We remain committed to serving our community by providing assistance where it is needed most, and we are excited about the opportunities to help non-healthcare essential workers, schools, and protestors participating in the Movement for Black Lives following the death of George Floyd.
An official statement from SMAH’s co-founders on the events happening in the U.S. An update about what SMAH’s pause will entail will be forthcoming in the next few days. Stay tuned.
#blackoutuesday
Guess what!? We have extended the date to purchase our SMAH merchandise! 👚❤️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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How it works: You have so many options! You can select from several t-shirt colors and styles, including a unisex t-shirt, a racerback tank, or even a jersey-style tee. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Order your limited-edition SMAH t-shirts THROUGH TONIGHT, JUNE 1ST at 11:59 P.M. Orders will ship from our partner, Bonfire, in June and are expected to arrive between June 11-22. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Check out the link in our bio. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We are so excited to see everyone representing SMAH!
Only 1 day left to purchase our awesome SMAH merchandise! 👚❤️
How it works: You have so many options! You can select from several t-shirt colors and styles, including a unisex t-shirt, a racerback tank, or even a jersey-style tee.
Order your limited-edition SMAH t-shirts NOW THROUGH MAY 31ST at 11:59 P.M. Orders will ship from our partner, Bonfire, in June and are expected to arrive between June 11-22.
Check out the link in our bio.
We are so excited to see everyone representing SMAH!
3 Days left to purchase our awesome SMAH merchandise! 👚❤️
How it works: You have so many options! You can select from several t-shirt colors and styles, including a unisex t-shirt, a racerback tank, or even a jersey-style tee.
Order your limited-edition SMAH t-shirts NOW THROUGH MAY 31ST at 11:59 P.M. Orders will ship from our partner, Bonfire, in June and are expected to arrive between June 11-22.
Check out the link in our bio.
We are so excited to see everyone representing SMAH!
Have questions about sewing? Want to connect with other members of the SMAH community? This Friday, you can Sew with SMAH!
Join SMAH’s Sewing Expert Chrissy Weeks this Friday (5/28) at 2 PM via Facebook Live.
If you haven’t joined our Facebook group (Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals - Atlanta), you can ask to join via the link in our bio.
Hope to see you there! 🥰😷
#kickasssewmasks #sewnwithheart #PPE #covid19 #pandemic #weloveATL
Hey sewists! Are you interested in taking part in a research study to investigate how sewing face masks at this time is impacting people?
Dr. Christine Schnittka at Auburn University is looking for mask makers to participate!
If you have sewn cloth face masks at home, are over the age of 18 and can be available for a Zoom interview, you would be a great candidate!
The interview would be recorded and last under 30 minutes.
If you are interested, please contact Dr. Christine Schnittka at schnittka@auburn.edu or message @chris_schnittka_ceramics on Instagram for more information.
Together, we have increased safety for those who put their health on the line to keep us healthy.
Together, we logged thousands of hours and poured our hearts into making simple but essential items—home-sewn masks—that represent the love and concern we have for one another.
Together, we’ve done the unimaginable: We delivered 50,000 masks.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this milestone. We hope you feel as proud and grateful as we do.
The Phoenix Rising Service Unit of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta is partnering with SMAH-Atlanta to donate Girl Scout Cookies to front-line workers during this global pandemic.
This week, SMAH-Atlanta co-founder Gina Livingston brought along her littles to spread Girl Scout cookie and mask love to our incredible health care workers (pictured here: Emory Donation Center, CAPN Clinics and InCommunity). She even made a special GS cookie mask for her daughter in honor of the occasion! 🥰
Phoenix Rising has nearly 900 girls in over 70 Troops in the City of Atlanta. Due to the pandemic, scheduled Cookie Booths were canceled leaving troops with hundreds of boxes of unsold cookies. Troops are responsible for the cost of those cookies, so unsold cookies directly affects troop funds.
Phoenix Rising and SMAH-Atlanta are partnering to get these Girl Scout Cookies to workers on the front lines. We are asking you to consider donating 5 boxes - a cost of $20 for our Classic varieties or $30 for our premium (gluten-free & specialty) varieties.
Our goal is to donate $3000 worth of Girl Scout Cookies to front-line workers. You can help teach Girls the power of Generosity and Gratitude.
We are accepting digital donations through Venmo: @GirlScout-Troop-18120.
You've been asking for them ... and now THEY'RE HERE:
SMAH-themed t-shirts! 👚❤ How it works: You have so many options! You can select from several t-shirt colors and styles, including a unisex t-shirt, a racerback tank, or even a jersey-style tee. Order your limited-edition SMAH t-shirts NOW THROUGH MAY 31ST at 11:59 P.M. Orders will ship from our partner, Bonfire, in June and are expected to arrive between June 11-22. Check out the link in our bio.
We are so excited to see everyone representing SMAH!
Have questions about sewing? Want to connect with other members of the SMAH community? This Friday, you can Sew with SMAH!
Join SMAH’s Sewing Expert Nikki Griffin of @AtlantaSewingStyle this Friday (04/22) at 2 PM via Facebook Live.
If you haven’t joined our Facebook group (Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals - Atlanta), you can ask to join via the link in our bio.
Hope to see you there! 🥰😷
#kickasssewmasks #sewnwithheart #PPE #covid19 #pandemic #weloveATL
SMAH-Atlanta co-founder and facilities director @kaylaelora making a literal mask drop! 🤣
Wondering where to take your completed masks? Find your nearest drop-off location at TinyURL.com/MaskDropOff.
#kickasssewmasks #sewnwithheart #WeloveATL #PPE #coronavirus #frontline
Before March 22, Jonson Li had never sewn a stitch. By mid-May he and his wife, Lilya, had sewn and donated over 1,400 masks to facilities requesting PPE from Sewing Masks for Area Hospitals-Atlanta. What’s key to their mask-making success? Practice and process.
“Find a process and make it more efficient and faster,” Jonson suggests. This engineer-turned-sewist even created a YouTube video detailing how to make a pleated surgical mask, notoriously daunting and time-consuming, in 40 seconds.
To celebrate his efforts, Jonson received a beautiful 1953 Singer sewing machine and cabinet, generously refurbished and donated by Evan Pittman. Check out Jonson’s post about the machine here!
Yet, Jonson reminds us that productivity isn’t the end-all, be-all: It’s about “donating time for a good cause.”
Thank you, Jonson, Evan and all those involved with SMAH!
#maskmaking #sewing #vintagesinger #smahatlanta #homesewn #sewnwithheart
On this Mother's Day, we have a special post written by Arlene Dijamco, a physician in Roswell. Sewing has been part of her life since she was a little girl. Here's Arlene's reflection in her own words, with photos of her daughters and her grandmother:
My grandmother Lola was a dressmaker. At least twice a year, my two sisters, our cousin and I would be measured for new dresses. Around Christmas time, we would each get a box full of colorful dresses. Most had pockets to carry around your treasures.
Sometimes, where you'd expect a neutral white thread to sew on a button, there'd be a happy lavender thread. Lola always had fun with colors -- fabrics, ribbons, buttons and more. Small things that bring sparkle to your day. Lola taught me that. She was a self-taught dressmaker who took apart items of clothing to study the patterns. Then she'd alter them a bit and design new ones.
As little girls, we took her scrap fabric and make outfits for our Barbie dolls. Sure, we got quizzical and fascinated looks from our friends. But it never got old. And now, during this cocoon time when time is warped and I'm suddenly homeschooling my daughters, I get to add the magic of sewing to the curriculum!
It started with the call to make masks by SMAH. I took out (and dusted off) the sewing machine tucked in the back of a closet. Good thing that using one is like riding a bicycle. I'm still a novice. But knowing how to cut and sew basic stitches can take you far!
And each of my four girls got involved. They were a bit nervous at first. But the excitement of using a foot pedal and creating something new was intriguing.
It's so empowering to be able to make things out of leftover fabrics. What was old transforms into something new and even more beautiful. Which is what is happening to all of us now: We are changing, evolving and transforming together. We are coming together to create in times of need. We are resilient and colorful and all part of this beautiful fabric of the universe.
I hope that these colorful masks we're making bring a little sparkle to someone's day, just like Lola showed me.
Happy Mother's Day to all!