Waking up in Edmonton this Easter Monday, we were greeted by brilliant sunshine, snow covered lawns and temperatures of -11C. The below normal weather conditions seem to mimic the abnormal lives we are currently living.

The pandemic has halted many of the activities we all took for granted. Instead of gathering for family Easter dinner, many of us connected with our families through virtual communication. The Easter bunny altered his routine and made major adjustments, including leaving his bunny trail outside in the snow.

There is one thing that the pandemic and the record low temperatures managed not to alter: Community Spirit!

Take the enterprising initiative of a young Sherwood Park woman who has been sewing protective masks, initially to share with people close to her. Starting with a self designed pattern, this creative woman joined forces with her friend to continuously perfect the protective coverings. “What started as simply making masks for family and friends has bloomed into a wonderful opportunity to help frontline employees and basically any individual who wants to take that extra precaution to help stop the spread. The term ‘I protect you, you protect me’ has never had so much meaning and has become our mantra for the promotion of wearing a face mask”.

Yesterday, the two volunteers delivered masks to University of Alberta nurses who want the masks for their personal use outside of the hospital. Requests for their product are increasing daily but along with that comes a new challenge. “Elastic has become the new toilet paper”. And appropriate fabric is at a premium. “Tightly woven cotton is best (e.g. quilting fabric/plain poplin). White, cream or black thread would also be great”.

These community minded women are asking for help. If you are in Edmonton and the region, contact me and I will let you know how to get these needed materials to these two volunteers.

Please support the endeavors of these volunteers. They are : The Fabric of Our Community !!!