Masks for Our Most Vulnerable Neighbors
Donation protected
Update as of January 2022:
It is bittersweet to announce the Mighty Masketeers of Columbia County are winding down our program. We are delighted that the need for free, handmade masks has been replaced by readily available, commercially produced masks and respirators, but saddened that the incredible energy of our volunteers and donors will become a cherished memory, rather than a daily presence.
Looking back, we are so proud of all that was accomplished by so many caring souls. We estimate we produced and distributed more than 10,000 masks – all free, all handmade, all a representation of love and caring from donors, cutters, stitchers, drivers, techies and administrators. We progressed from cut up cotton shirts, cannibalized vacuum bags and house filters, and too many design prototypes to count, to produce one of the best handmade masks available.
Our masks have found their way to medical workers, farmers markets, housing complexes, prisons, sovereign nations and everyday people. We have shared our designs widely, made our wonderful filtration media available to mask makers anywhere, and kept a small fleet of sewing machines humming. Along the way, we have found a purpose for ourselves when chaos ruled the days, and built kinship with each other that endures.
In addition to this legacy, we have established an ongoing scholarship with Columbia Greene Community College for students wishing to learn to sew. The remainder of the funds raised through our generous donors have been distributed to our sister organizations – The Columbia County Recovery Kitchen and The Grow in Harmony Community Garden. The Kitchen, the Garden and the Masketeers were all formed in unison to meet a need. While the need for masks has been met, the important work of the people at the Kitchen and Garden continues. We are grateful for the work they do, and believe their mission is the best use of our surplus.
Lastly, we wish to thank everyone. We are too many to thank individually, to look in the eye, to hug, to reminisce with, so please accept our most heartfelt thanks, virtually.
Original Fundraiser Message:
The Mighty Masketeers is a group of Columbia County residents who realized early in this crisis that while we should be wearing masks to protect ourselves and each other, we had to find a way to save valuable medical equipment for frontline healthcare workers. This group has committed extensive time, research, and energy to make masks for our community, especially those at highest risk.
The members of this group participate in whatever way they can – we have teams of cutters, sewists, drivers, and those doing the various other essential activities that keep our effort running smoothly. The members of the Mighty Masketeers are a diverse group, all with their own skills to offer: artists, retirees, professionals whose careers are on hold, and children are all helping in the effort to get as many face masks made as they can!
The group has already sent over 1500 masks to populations in need throughout our region. Our masks have gone to local farms, police departments, post offices, rescue squads, and grocery stores. We have sent masks to Joseph’s House Homeless Shelter in Troy, COARC advocacy resource center in Hudson, and nurses at Columbia Memorial Hospital and Berkshire Medical Center. We have even sent masks to some of the hardest hit hospitals in New York City, Elmhurst in Queens and Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Our biggest project at the moment is sending hundreds of masks to incarcerated women in Bedford and Taconic women’s prisons, and we are exploring avenues to get our masks to those incarcerated at Riker’s Island.
Please visit our website www.columbiamasketeersny.org to request masks and for volunteer opportunities.
It is bittersweet to announce the Mighty Masketeers of Columbia County are winding down our program. We are delighted that the need for free, handmade masks has been replaced by readily available, commercially produced masks and respirators, but saddened that the incredible energy of our volunteers and donors will become a cherished memory, rather than a daily presence.
Looking back, we are so proud of all that was accomplished by so many caring souls. We estimate we produced and distributed more than 10,000 masks – all free, all handmade, all a representation of love and caring from donors, cutters, stitchers, drivers, techies and administrators. We progressed from cut up cotton shirts, cannibalized vacuum bags and house filters, and too many design prototypes to count, to produce one of the best handmade masks available.
Our masks have found their way to medical workers, farmers markets, housing complexes, prisons, sovereign nations and everyday people. We have shared our designs widely, made our wonderful filtration media available to mask makers anywhere, and kept a small fleet of sewing machines humming. Along the way, we have found a purpose for ourselves when chaos ruled the days, and built kinship with each other that endures.
In addition to this legacy, we have established an ongoing scholarship with Columbia Greene Community College for students wishing to learn to sew. The remainder of the funds raised through our generous donors have been distributed to our sister organizations – The Columbia County Recovery Kitchen and The Grow in Harmony Community Garden. The Kitchen, the Garden and the Masketeers were all formed in unison to meet a need. While the need for masks has been met, the important work of the people at the Kitchen and Garden continues. We are grateful for the work they do, and believe their mission is the best use of our surplus.
Lastly, we wish to thank everyone. We are too many to thank individually, to look in the eye, to hug, to reminisce with, so please accept our most heartfelt thanks, virtually.
Original Fundraiser Message:
The Mighty Masketeers is a group of Columbia County residents who realized early in this crisis that while we should be wearing masks to protect ourselves and each other, we had to find a way to save valuable medical equipment for frontline healthcare workers. This group has committed extensive time, research, and energy to make masks for our community, especially those at highest risk.
The members of this group participate in whatever way they can – we have teams of cutters, sewists, drivers, and those doing the various other essential activities that keep our effort running smoothly. The members of the Mighty Masketeers are a diverse group, all with their own skills to offer: artists, retirees, professionals whose careers are on hold, and children are all helping in the effort to get as many face masks made as they can!
The group has already sent over 1500 masks to populations in need throughout our region. Our masks have gone to local farms, police departments, post offices, rescue squads, and grocery stores. We have sent masks to Joseph’s House Homeless Shelter in Troy, COARC advocacy resource center in Hudson, and nurses at Columbia Memorial Hospital and Berkshire Medical Center. We have even sent masks to some of the hardest hit hospitals in New York City, Elmhurst in Queens and Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Our biggest project at the moment is sending hundreds of masks to incarcerated women in Bedford and Taconic women’s prisons, and we are exploring avenues to get our masks to those incarcerated at Riker’s Island.
Please visit our website www.columbiamasketeersny.org to request masks and for volunteer opportunities.
Fundraising team: The Mighty Masketeers of Columbia County (2)
Eileen J. Raab
Organizer
Raised $1,462 from 13 donations
New Lebanon, NY
Dan B
Beneficiary
Deborah Doyle
Team member
Raised $448 from 8 donations
This team raised $6,519 from 102 other donations.
