Teacher education coordinator Bridgette Smith sews masks for community members. (Photo courtesy of Bridgette Smith)
When the pandemic set in last spring, four faculty and staff members in the St. Thomas School of Education, Anne Howard, Debbie Monson, Ea Porter and Bridgette Smith, took it upon themselves to spread joy by sewing and distributing over 1,200 masks for homeless shelters, medical workers, grocery clerks, librarians, and others within the Twin Cities and beyond.
Although their efforts started individually, the four eventually discovered that they had all been making masks in their free time when it came up in a department Zoom meeting. Since then, they have stayed busy sewing, not just to protect others from the virus, but to make others feel loved during an isolating time.
For Howard, undergraduate elementary residency coordinator and adjunct instructor, the effort evolved from making masks for the Wayzata police department to making hundreds for everyone from people on campus to family members around the globe; one mask making it to Howard’s niece in Australia.
“It just kind of kept growing. People kept asking,” Howard said.
When people insisted on giving something in return for a mask, Howard asked them to bring a food donation to Keystone Community Services’ St. Paul food shelves.
“They brought in bags of stuff. I don’t know how much, but there was a lot,” said Howard.
A selection of masks sewed by teacher education program coordinator Bridgette Smith. Over 1,200 masks were made and distributed as a result of Smith and her colleagues’ efforts. (Photo courtesy of Bridgette Smith)
Monson, associate professor of teacher education, set out to make math-themed masks for all of her students.
“All of my students have one that has numbers or something on them, just because I thought it was fun,” Monson said.
Porter, assistant director of community engagement and recruiting, was able to make an impact by donating masks to residents of a nursing home in her neighborhood.
“By giving them masks, they were able to do some visits with their family members. So they were really happy,” Porter said.
The four will continue to make masks depending on the needs of their loved ones and community.
“Even if people don’t ask . . . it’s still nice to get another one. It’s a way to know that someone was thinking about you,” Smith, teacher education program coordinator, said.
“It was good to know that I made a difference,” Porter said.
Emily Rudie can be reached at rudi7985@stthomas.edu.