Dear Mask Makers,

Thank you.

You heard the global call, and you answered. Thank you.

You may have had to dust off your old Singer or set aside your visions and creative dreams still held within stacked reams and bloated bobbins. Thank you. 

You sacrificed your kitchen tables and replaced the sounds of your home with the whir of your machine. Thank you. 

The skills you learned may have been passed through generations, learned through endless hours pressing PLAY and PAUSE repeatedly on YouTube, maybe you can remember the face and voice of your HomeEc instructor decades ago, or maybe you’re a pure prodigy. You gave this life skill to save lives. Thank you. 

You may have been inspired by an emotional social media post or a news article expressing the statistical need, or perhaps a close friend or family member is considered a vulnerable person, or maybe your inspiration is one who bravely reports to duty as an essential worker. And YOU chose to show up. Thank you.

Even now, sounds echo throughout our globe of your hands working, fabric stretching, elastic snapping, pockets adjusting, and scissors cleverly cutting the most precise measurements so the very last bit of fabric is not wasted. We echo with our aching globe, THANK YOU.