Apr. 5, 2020 9:15p
(WGTD)---Jen Scarloto has been sewing as a hobby for years, never thinking that her skills would one day be considered potentially life-saving.
Scarloto, a software consultant by day, has joined an army of several dozen others in Kenosha, and thousands across the country, in making hard-to-find-and-buy cloth, face masks for health care workers, first responders, nursing home residents and others. "I finish my day job around 6 and I grab some dinner," she said. "I sew into the early morning."
Scarloto figures she’s sewn about 200 masks over the last week-and-a-half.
In Kenosha, the volunteer effort in response to COVID-19 is loosely organized by the Facebook page, “Kenosha Cares.”
One of the page administrators is daycare operator Holly Tuttle-Barthhuly, who says she’s been overwhelmed by the support she’s received. "I've been waking up at 7in the morning with at least 20 messages either asking for masks or wanting to help make masks or get information on how to make masks,' she said.
Many others in the area have jumped in to help respond to the urgent need for personal protective gear.
Gateway Technical College’s fab lab at the iMET Center has put its 3D printers to use in producing plastic face shields.
And Kenosha-based Jockey is expected to begin producing thousands of isolation gowns.
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