Church group coming together, apart, to make masks

Published 5:15 am Saturday, April 11, 2020

While most of the state and nation have seen face mask shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, one Cullman church group has helped fill the local need by giving away more than 700 homemade masks over the last few weeks. 

Members of Cullman Church of Christ began working to make masks three weeks ago, and the group — made up of fewer than a dozen people — had made a total of 764 masks Friday afternoon, said church member Judy Sisk.

“Several of us are all working together, at a distance, to make masks,” she said. 

There are a few members who do each step of crafting the masks, like sewing or cutting, and after finishing their stage of mask building, they drop them off on the porch of the next member in line without any close contact with each other, Sisk said.

She said the Cullman Church of Christ group has been working to fill the needs of individuals and local businesses that can’t get masks, all of the masks are free to anyone who needs them. 

“People offer to pay, but that’s not why we’re doing it,” she said. “We just want everybody to stay safe.”

If someone asks for masks, they will receive them right away if the group has enough made. If there aren’t enough, that person’s name will be added to the group’s list to receive their masks as soon as they are made. 

“I never dreamed we would do as many as we have done, but I never dreamed the need would be as big as it is,” she said.

Sisk said there have been a lot of people who have donated fabric and materials to help the group continue to make the masks, and she made sure to thank everyone who has helped out over the last few weeks.

“We could not be doing this without them,” she said. 

Anyone who wants to contribute to the group’s efforts to make face masks can email Sisk at judy.cullmanchurch@gmail.com.