Operation COVID-19 Garment Revival

Operation COVID-19 Garment Revival deliverables as of 11/22/20:
Donated 2,264 face masks to New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS)
Donated 1,200 face masks to Howard Brown Health, Chicago, IL
Donated 1,161 face masks to local volunteers, family and friends in vulnerable communities
Donated 1,000 face masks to Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center
Donated 1,000 face masks to JCCA
Donated 600 face masks to Precision LTC Pharmacy, Farmingdale, NY
Donated 550 scrub caps to Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center
Donated 520 face masks to The Okra Project
Donated 500 face masks to SALUD Family Health Centers, Ft. Lupton, CO
Donated 500 face masks to Hetrick-Martin Institute 
Donated 350 face masks to Ali Forney Center
Donated 300 face masks to The Village at Victory Lakes, Lindenhurst, IL
Donated 201 face masks to Lutheran Social Services / Muhlenberg Residence
Donated 200 face masks to Saint Joseph's Hospital, Syracuse, NY and St. Peter's Hospital, Albany, NY
Donated 200 face masks to University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago, IL
Donated 200 face masks to NAICA: Neighborhood Association of Inter-Cultural Affairs
Donated 200 face masks to CUCS: Center for Urban Community Services
Donated 200 face masks to MacArthur Medical Center, Irving, TX
Donated 150 isolation gowns to CUCS: Center for Urban Community Services
Donated 150 face masks to NewYork-Presbyterian
Donated 150 face masks to Lutheran Social Services / Community House
Donated 150 face masks to Grace Hospice, Edison, NJ
Donated 150 face masks to Zufall Health Center, NJ
Donated 120 face masks to South of Market Health Center 
Donated 120 face masks to Warren Barr Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, IL
Donated 100 face masks to CASES, the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services
Donated 100 face masks to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL
Donated 100 face masks to Aurora Medical Center, Summit, WI
Donated 100 face masks to Harlem Hospital ER
Donated 100 face masks to Give2SF COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund
Donated 100 face masks to Northport VA Medical Center, Northport, NY
Donated 100 face masks to Hopeful Beginnings, Palatine, IL
Donated 100 face masks to Monmouth Day Care Center, Red Bank, NJ
Donated 100 face masks to Stanford Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA
Donated 100 scrub caps to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
Donated 100 scrub caps Zufall Health Center, NJ
Donated 100 face masks to GPW Health Center, Woodbridge, VA
Donated 100 face masks to Services for the UnderServed
Donated 56 face masks to Three Rivers Community Health, Lyles, TN
Donated 50 face masks to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital, Woodstock, VA
Donated 50 face masks to Shenandoah Community Health Clinic, Woodstock, VA

STORY:
In late March I was sitting on my couch, watching way too much CNN and feeling entirely helpless about all that was happening around us. I knew I wanted to contribute in some small way but wasn't entirely sure how. I'm a NY based  designer and while I didn't have an entire team on payroll I did know a network of freelance sewers I regularly work with.  As I reached out to see if they might be interested in teaming up to make non-medical face masks, I learned most if not all of them had lost their jobs due to the unstable fashion industry or because of COVID-19. It quickly became clear to me that we should try to put the heart and soul of our industry, our sewers, back to work through the production of non-medical PPE for our front liners. 

As the team quickly grew to 12+ sewers, we were in desperate need of fabric resources and unfortunately most of the fabric suppliers were considered non-essential businesses and were closed. I began reaching out to stylists and friends and family for new or slightly worn cotton or denim garments to revive or up-cycle into face masks and in-kind donations started pouring in.  These revived garments would be sewn by local sewers from their homes and then distributed to non-medical staff in our hospitals and organizations who serve our most vulnerable communities.

And thus Operation COVID-19 Garment Revival was born. To date we have raised over $27,000 and have donated 13,442 pieces of non-medical PPE / face masks, isolation gowns and scrub caps.

OBJECTIVE:
The creative up-cycling of unwanted garments and unused fabric yardage into non-medical PPE  will put a capable number of NY based sewers to work at an essential and unprecedented time. Operation COVID-19 Garment Revival will then donate the PPE to those who serve our most vulnerable communities.

WHAT WE STILL NEED:
Funding for our team of sewers

$5,000.00 will fund the production of 2,000 face masks
$2,500.00 will fund the production of 1,000 face masks
$500.00 will fund the production of 200 face masks

Every donation, large or small will help our cause. Thank you for the support!

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3/23/20 Update: As of this afternoon we've organized a group of 12 sewers all NY based and we're starting to hear from others in other cities and upstate. The majority of these sewers are out of work due the COVID-19 situation but want to help. Some were already looking for work due to the ever changing climate of the fashion industry. Many stylists, individuals and companies have offered clothing or fabric donations and now we are starting to receive and collect and are planning distribution to sewers.

3/24/20 Update: We're launching a GoFundMe page with a goal of 1,920.00 to fund a dozen sewers for one day to make approximately 600 masks or 180 gowns

3/25/20 Update: 24 hours ago we launched this initiative and received an amazing response. We raised over $2k in less than a day. It is amazing what kind individuals have done to help us. THANK YOU to all who contributed clothing, funds, and spread the word. The latter has been so helpful and people from all around the country have reached out. Mask kits have started to go out this morning. Please continue spreading the word! We have a new fundraising goal which will help us buy precious elastic and also fund more sewer's time. We now have 20+ sewers ready to help but we cannot proceed until we have more elastic. Thank you again!

3/26/20 Update: All updates are now listed under "Updates"