We were so inspired by the work of our two friends Sinead McGuinness (graphic Designer) and Sinead O'Riordan (producer and actress and owner of ORion Productions) for their amazing achievement to galvanise a sewing army to help with the shortages of face masks for the vulnerable and also to protect front line workers on their way to and from work.

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On seeing the huge response on their East Coast Mask Makers facebook page for both volunteers and requests for masks - we decided to get on board to try to help in a small way with some local PR to get the word out. We also created a Community APP for people to volunteer, donate, request masks and collaborate by sharing stories and photos. It also helps to save time for the organisers and streamline orders. This can be loaded on your device in a click www.eastcoastmaskmakers.app

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Our Press release is below and this news has featured this week in Bray People - see image below - Thanks a million to Mary Fogarty for featuring us.

The East Coast Mask Makers story has also been featured on East Coast FM , Greystones Guide and WicklowNow.ie

Thanks to the editors and programmers there for featuring East Coast Mask Makers there too!

Thanks Tara Gileece - my fellow colleague of our group The Women's Inspire Network for the journo request alerts too.

Get Involved:

Get involved to sew masks, donate money or elastic fabric or other materials, help with local deliveries - email the organisers at eastcoastmaskmakers@gmail.com or via the app www.eastcoastmaskmakers.app

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‘FACING’ A CRISIS

East Coast Mask Makers, founded by local community has delivered over 2500 FREE non-surgical cloth masks to the vulnerable since April 1st and has just launched a mobile app

Friday 10th April, 2020.  East Coast Mask Makers, a non profit, was founded less than two weeks ago by Sinead O’Riordan and Sinead McGuinness, two pioneering women from Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow. Since inception, this idea has grown into a community stretching well beyond Wicklow and has inspired new groups to be set up in Sligo and as far away as Marin County in California.

East Coast Mask Makers now has:

1. Created and dispatched over 2500 masks to the vulnerable and The Ambulance Service in Loughlinstown and many others are being sent to nursing home carers around the country.  

2. Raised over €2200 on their GoFundMe Page to raise money for more materials and postage, smashing their target of €500 in 24 hours.

3. Just launched a community mobile app where people can volunteer, donate, request masks and collaborate by sharing stories and photos.  This is available in a click at www.eastcoastmaskmakers.app and is sponsored by local business owner Lisa Kelly from www.myapp.ie

“We are very fortunate enough to have a local Wicklow biker community, Bravo Charlie Tango collaborate with us and deliver bulk orders on our behalf. Honestly, it really has been an amazing community effort. In addition, our local councillor, Melanie Corrigan has helped spread the word on our behalf. We’ve even had orders from California!” said Sinead O’Riordan.

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The Facebook group is over 400 strong with seamstresses, fabric suppliers and supporters and has so far created over 1000+ masks which have already been delivered to many of the vulnerable, The Ambulance Service in Loughlinstown and many others are being sent to nursing home carers around the country.

“Since our recent radio interviews on East Coast FM and Dermot and Dave - Today FM, we have been inundated with requests. Luckily we have an amazing bunch of seamstresses stretching from Enniskerry, to Swords, to Meath who are fulfilling these orders. People are churning out 30/40/50 masks in one day! It's truly is amazing and inspiring. Not everyone has sewing skills but people just really want to help in some manner, be it to source fabric, or be runners on the ground and deliver/pickup fabric etc. Others want to donate fabric and or a few Euro. The whole movement really has given people at home a sense of worth and purpose. People now have a way to help and are more than delighted to pull out their sewing machines and get cracking.” Said Sinead Mc Guinness.

“The messages we have received from people have both been heart breaking and heart-warming. People are scared. Very scared. People are reaching out to us and telling us their stories and how grateful they are to have this service. It really makes you realise the mammoth task our healthcare providers have. They are the true heroes here as well as our army of seamstresses who are sewing up a storm as we speak!” said Sinead O’Riordan.

Finally it is important to mention, these masks do not prevent one from contracting or spreading the virus but merely adds another layer of protection whilst adhering to all of the other social distancing and regular hand washing rules.

To get involved, either by sewing masks or donating materials, email organisers at east- coastmaskmakers@gmail.com, or via the app www.eastcoastmaskmakers.app or the Facebook Group East Coast Mask Makers.

ABOUT US.  

We are a NON-PROFIT crowdfunded group of voluntary seamstresses. Our aim is simple. To take up the needle during wartime and make cloth face masks for those who are vulnerable and caregivers within our community. However, these masks DO NOT replace surgical medical-grade masks.

We hope that increasing the availability of these fabric face masks from our wonderful sewing community, will allow more medical and surgical grade masks to reach the people who need them MOST: front-line healthcare workers.

**KEEP MEDICAL GRADE MASKS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE ON THE FRONT-LINE.**

PLEASE NOTE: These masks will NOT completely stop the wearer from transmitting or receiving the virus alone but should provide some additional protection whilst also adhering to regular hand washing and social distancing. Our masks are free to those who really need them. In addition to receiving fabric donations, we have set up a GoFundMe to cover other basic costs. For those who can't sew and wish to help, all donations will go towards sourcing materials (100% Cotton & Elastic) and postal services. :

GoFundMe Page:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/east-coast-mask-makers?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/571243013492452/

Media Contact:

Sinead O’Riordan

Email: eastcoastmaskmakers@gmail.com and oriordansinead@gmail.com

Twitter: @oriordansinead

Mobile: 086 881 9150

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