A Whitby, Ont., business owner is now donating her time to help make personal protective equipment.
She just opened her own storefront in January, but was forced to close her doors.
“Every day we go as fast as we can,” says Meredith Brookings, who makes PPE for workers across the province.
Brookings is the owner of Couture Alterations, a store meant to alter wedding gowns, prom dresses and other products. But once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she had to shut down, after just opening her doors earlier in the year.
“It was very disappointing to have to close just weeks after opening, but being able to help is nice.”
This operation is not a small venture for the seamstress. With the help of her family she is making around 100 masks a day and hands them out to front-line workers at nursing homes and long-term care homes all over.
“We’ve delivered to Participation House, Pinecrest Nursing Home up in Bobcaygeon, the Canadian Mental Health Association.”
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The venture is entirely non-profit, working off of donations with volunteers and donated material. Her operation makes gowns, masks and scrub caps around the clock.
Although this isn’t making any money for her business, she says it’s all worth it when there’s so many people in need.
“We have demands out there and we just want to fulfil those,” she said. “So I don’t feel it’s hard. It’s been kind of nice to help people.”
But on top of making masks, she is also putting together masks that can help the hearing impaired. The model has a plastic sheet in the middle, allowing people to see a worker’s mouth through the mask.
“It’s great to see the greater community pulling together and trying to find ways to support vulnerable people,” says Jennifer Robbins, executive director of the Canadian Helen Keller Centre.
Brookings, who has more than 15 years’ experience in altering, says when the centre got wind of her mask-making initiative, they asked her if she could help — and she accepted the challenge.
“I put together a prototype, she said yes and we just made them as fast we could.”
Robbins says with the challenges those with impairments can present, having a mask like this can help people hard of hearing to communicate better.
Along with a few volunteers and Meredith’s own family, Brookings has been making protective equipment for the past few weeks. Her children, Alivia and Annabella, who are currently out of school, have also been on the assembly line helping their mom.
They say they’re happy to be part of something bigger that can help keep people safe.
“People are really sick and we help them a lot,” they say — a sentiment they share with their mom.
“Everybody’s in this together,” says Brookings.
“Stronger together. we’re trying to just help everybody.”
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