Sewing Volunteers

Under normal circumstances, DCH is run with the assistance of a whole host of volunteers. These faithful individuals are usually the people who greet you at the reception desk, but they can also be seen filling roles in areas across the organization. During certain times of the year, many of the volunteers are college students seeking experience in certain areas, but we also have retirees or just people with a little time to help out.

As the COVID-19 situation developed, DCH decided to be extra cautious and asked its volunteers to stay home. Now, a small group of volunteers is coming back to sew masks. At the moment, about a dozen existing volunteers and University of Alabama students have been working with DCH’s Volunteer Services to learn how to sew masks.

Six sewing machines were lent by community members for the project. They have been set up in a large conference area in the hospital, and training is nearly complete. The group plans to start production on cloth masks next week.

Masks produced from this effort will be primarily provided to non-clinical staff and community members who come in for an appointment or procedure. These masks will complement the efforts of community sewers who are producing the masks made from medical-grade sterilization fabric.

Thank you, volunteers!

Wendi Parminter (red mask), director of Volunteer Services at DCH, Maggie Turner (light blue mask), a volunteer and a graduating senior of the University of Alabama, and Goldie Franklin (dark blue mask), a regular DCH volunteer. Franklin looks on as Parminter teaches Turner how to sew her first mask.