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12-Year-Old Sews 444 Masks For Local Healthcare Workers

By: Jessie Williams

Twelve-year-old Trinity Nash, a Macon County 4-H member, has sewn 444 masks for healthcare workers in and around Macon County since starting her mission on Friday, March 20.

 

The Macon County Junior High School seventh grader said she saw the need for the masks when her sister had to visit a doctor’s office to get an allergy shot.

“My mom felt uneasy about going to the doctor’s office due to the recent spread of the Coronavirus and asked me to make her and my sister some masks,” Trinity recalls. “And then people started messaging me on social media and asking if I could make them some too.”

Trinity has made masks for eleven doctors’ offices and pharmacies in Macon and Sumner counties. She has also made them for high risk individuals and local nursing homes.

The cloth masks Trinity creates include a pocket for a coffee filter or cheesecloth material to go inside. They can also be worn over the disposable, single-use masks. 

Trinity says she first learned to sew when she was 9 years old at 4-H Camp, but her great grandmother helped her to excel at it in the years to follow. 

She says she is happy she can use this talent to give back to the community that has given so much to her family. 

“Our home was hit by the 2008 tornado here in Macon County and the community really rallied around us and helped us,” she said. “This is a way for us to give back to our community at a time of great need.”

Family & Consumer Sciences/4-H Youth Development Macon County UT Extension Agent Michaela Pedigo urges anyone interested in sewing fabric masks for healthcare workers to join the Face Masks of Love Project. 

“There is a potential for low supplies of PPE, Personal Protective Equipment, for healthcare workers,” said Pedigo. “The opportunity to support healthcare workers as we navigate the Coronavirus pandemic in Tennessee is available by sewing fabric face masks through the Face Masks of Love Project.”

If you’re interested in participating in this service project, call the Macon County Extension office at (615) 666-3341 and leave message or email Pedigo at mlpedigo@utk.edu for additional details and specific face masks patterns.