Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce Newsletter June 2020 Sparta Ambassador | страница 21

21 - The Sparta Ambassador -June 2020 From Fort McCoy FORT McCOY Theresa Fitzgerald Fort McCoy remains open, but experiencing numerous impacts to service due COVID-19 precautions. Please call ahead or check www.facebook.com/FtMcCoy for a list of changes to services before visiting. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Volunteers step up to help protect Fort McCoy families by making masks When Fort McCoy Army Community Service (ACS) put out a call for help, a number of volunteers answered and started sewing cloth face masks to help protect Fort McCoy workers and family members during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 1, 136 completed masks have been collected by Army Volunteer Corps Coordinator Lorie Retzlaff. Twenty-two volunteers, including 19 volunteers who are new to the program and six families, are making masks. The masks are made of fabric and tie behind the head with string or ribbon. ACS provides the material to volunteers, and both dropoffs and pickups are made via social distancing. ACS also provides two different patterns to volunteers: one that can hold a filter and a simpler design that does not. “We want to give our volunteers the two options as some have greater sewing skills and are not intimidated by making pleats,” Retzlaff said. That way we also optimize the number of masks being made.” Retzlaff said ACS also has several sewing machines, normally used for craft workshops and family projects, that can be loaned to volunteers who do not have their own. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Masks should fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face, be secured with ties or ear loops, include multiple layers of fabric, allow for breathing without restriction, and be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape. Read more at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html. Fort McCoy is still in need of volunteers to sew masks. For more information about volunteering, call 608-388-6507 and leave a message or email [email protected]. ftmccoy usagmccoy