“My husband Doug and I have felt so fortunate in all the things we
didn’t have to worry about because of living at Landis Homes — the way staff members and residents help one another — it’s a joy serving others,” Diane Garrett said of her motivations.
Enriching Lives, Together
made of fun fabrics portraying puppies, kittens, cows and more.
done that, I learned that there needed to be a wire of some sort to help the mask fit around the nose. Pipe cleaners were suggested, and that worked well. Ten we learned that there needed to be an opening in the top so another layer of protection could be added if necessary. Finally, we needed to get this pattern written in a way that others could follow it,” Mae said.
While some of the fabric was donated, several of the mask makers also had their own stash of fabric at home. Janet Kline, one of the mask makers, made masks for team members and for others in the community.
“First I made them just for healthcare workers. Ten using my supplies, I offered them first to friends and neighbors at Landis Homes, and then to family and friends off-campus. My husband sees an eye doctor whose office was limited to one mask per week, so I made about forty masks for the workers there. By then, other residents heard of my work, and I began receiving requests. So now, I hang them outside our apartment door and people come pick them up,” Janet said.
Diane Garrett also began experimenting with mask making in early March and made masks for residents on campus and for others off-campus.
“I made two masks for my husband and myself in early March using patterns I found on the Internet. A couple of weeks later a friend in Harvest View asked if I could make some for her and her husband, and that’s when I realized it would be helpful to keep making them,” Diane shared.
Te masks made by the mask makers totaled around 1,000. Some of the mask makers made as few as five masks and some as many as 400. Te masks are often
Each mask and mask maker has a special story. Janet Kline began sewing as a young girl, making doll clothes, and then she moved on to sewing clothing. Mae Stoltzfus also started sewing when she was young. She made all her masks on the sewing machine that she bought the year after graduating high school. Diane Garrett was a career seamstress.
Only now have the mask makers been able to slow down enough to give their busy fingers a break. Tey have witnessed their work on the faces of team members and friends alike.
Another testament to their hard work is the gifts given to the Caring Fund in their honor. Te Caring Fund provides for residents who have insufficient funds to cover the cost of personal care or healthcare services. More than twenty-three gifts were given in honor of the mask makers with more donations still arriving.
“I didn’t want to charge people for the masks. One of the ladies who received one of my first masks for residents said she would make a donation to the Caring Fund. I thought that was a great idea, and it caught on. Tese masks are a blessing to the recipient as well as helping someone else,” Janet said.
“My husband Doug and I have felt so fortunate in all the things we didn’t have to worry about because of living at Landis Homes — the way staff members and residents help one another — it’s a joy serving others,” Diane said of her motivations.
“It was so wonderful when I would learn of additional people who wanted to make masks. Also, a highlight of each week was having Moniqua pick up the masks that we completed, always hoping there would be more than the week before,” Mae Stoltzfus shared.
Tank you, mask makers, for your endless hard work sewing masks to protect team members and residents and for encouraging others to give to the Caring Fund.
Landis.org | FLOURISH | Summer 2020 • 5
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