When Maisha Guillory, Aldine ISD program director of health services, presented a challenge to her school nurses, she was overwhelmed with the response. And did they respond in a big, big way!
Guillory asked a number of AISD school nurses to create masks to help protect district employees while they distributed Chromebooks to Aldine ISD students April 15 and 17. The masks were used as a preventative in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
“I am so proud of our nurses,” Guillory said. “They stepped up to the plate and used their talents to create hundreds of masks for their fellow Aldine employees. They not only tend to the needs of their students, but they came to the aid of Aldine’s staff and the community as well.”
The nurses who created the masks were Deborah Stevenson of Spence Elementary School, Sofia Salazar of Dunn Elementary School, Emily Carter of Vines Primary School, Cindy Albee of Lane School, Sheri Quada of Aldine Education Center, Susan Klosterboer of Goodman Elementary School, Beverly Kelly of Cypresswood Elementary School, Cynthia Crafts of Odom Elementary School, Tequia Babineaux of Carver High School, Linda Linzy of Hambrick Middle School and Tawanna Chargois of Caraway Elementary School.
Linzy said make the masks helped her remain busy during the closure of the district.
“I started sewing masks to keep myself busy, every evening,” she said. “I posted a few pictures on Facebook and on my neighborhood app. I received an overwhelming response from people in my community needing and wanting masks.”
Guillory requested 150 masks for the distribution undertaking. As Linzy stated earlier, all extra masks that were created were provided to members of the community.
Linzy said Stevenson and Klosterboer are talented seamstresses and she learned how to sew by watching Youtube videos.
Salazar made 60 masks on her own and shared a number of them with her Dunn family.
“I showed them to my Dunn family and they started asking if I can make them one,” she said. “I love sewing, so why not!”
Stevenson, who has been a nurse for 35 years, created 88 masks and is working on another project for her neighbors.
“My next project will be to make a few masks and scrub caps for some of the grocery store clerks at my local Kroger,” Stevenson said. “I will also sew scrub caps for my co-workers at the hospital.”
Crafts said making the masks was easy for her because she has years of sewing experience.
“As a sewer, I hoard fabric and supplies, as all good sewers do,” Crafts said.”I have been using my stash. As nurses e have a tendency of wanting to get out and help do what we can, often times on the front lines helping people and their families.”
Albee, who has been a nurse for 45 years, is also a life-long sewer who used a family heirloom to craft her masks.
“I have been sewing since junior high,” Albee said.”The material I am using has come from projects I have done over the years and things I ‘inherited’ from my grandma’s sewing box. I am also using grandmas’ sewing machine to put them together.”
The effort by this group of school nurses shows once again that when they are called to help others in Aldine and their community they come through in a big, big way!