ARTHURDALE — Two retired Preston County teachers and Arthurdale Heritage Inc (AHI) are working together to provide West Preston students with masks.
“My husband Mike and I were wondering what we could do to help our students,” Kathy George said. “We’re seniors, so we couldn’t go out and tutor.”
George and her husband are members of the activity committee at AHI.
Darlene Bolyard, director of AHI, said the Georges came up with the idea of making masks for students.
George said her sister-in-law Pam Volone, a fiber artist, started making masks for the Guild for the Blind in Pittsburgh.
“I thought we could make masks for the students. My sister-in-law donated fiber for 500 to 600 masks,” she said. George said all of the fabric and elastic for the project was donated.
“It was a wonderful idea,” Bolyard said, “Some parents can’t sew, masks get lost and they can be expensive to replace.”
George said 21 seamstresses from the Arthurdale community are making the masks.
“This shows how wonderful our community is,” Bolyard said.
George said most of the masks will be turned in by Sept. 11. They will be distributed to students Sept. 14.
“One lady is doing Halloween masks,” she said. “Who knows, maybe someone will be doing them for Christmas. It could be an ongoing project.”
George said she is getting calls from people who are outside her driving area who want to help with the project.
“People are calling and saying if we send them the kits they will make the masks and mail them back to us,” she said.
Bolyard said kits can be picked up at the AHI craft shop 10 a.m. -4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sun. 1- 5 p.m. Sunday.
“Kathy and Mike deserve a medal for this,” Bolyard said. “They cut the kits, got the material needed and put the kits into 12’s. That’s a lot of work.”
Some of the students receiving masks will be attending the FETCH program.
George said FETCH (Folks Educating, Telling, Caring and Helping) is an after school program that will be open again this year. The program was started 25 years ago.
Donations to Arthurdale Heritage can be made by mail at AHI, P.O. Box 850, Arthurdale, WV 26520 or online at arthurdaleheritage.org.
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