MACON, Ga. — At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Julie Dominy says she wanted to find a way to help healthcare workers on the front lines.
"For my own sanity too, I needed to do something," she said.
She started a Facebook group called the Macon Mask Makers to coordinate sewers and donations.
"I put bins outside my house so people could drop off supplies or masks," she said.
The online group quickly grew to nearly 400 members.
"We have such a dedicated group," she said.
Dominy says the sewers are working around the clock and churning out thousands of masks.
"I know I've had at least a thousand come through my house and probably at least a thousand more from members who are delivering them," Dominy said.
She says they have been delivering to hospitals and clinics, but they recently created an online request form for anyone who wants masks.
"You literally see these nurses cry when they get them, because they have nothing," she said. "And it's cancer patients, dialysis patients, even the person who is out delivering food right now, they get these, and they are so grateful, because they know that we as a community are caring for them."
Dominy says they still need supply donations like fabric and elastic. She says they also got a large donation of elastic headbands and need buttons.
"The mask attaches to the buttons, so it saves the back of the ears," she explained.
She says the group even got creative with donations of yoga pants by turning them into caps.
"The nurses can use them to cover their hair. They need to be totally covered," she said.
Dominy says anyone willing to make a donation can drop items off in the bins located at 153 Rest Haven Avenue in Macon.
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