Framingham mother-daughter duo making mask covers amid shortage

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — A mother and daughter in Framingham are doing what they can to help nurses and doctors in desperate need of face masks.

‘We will forever be remembered by the threads we leave behind’ is the motto at the Savas household, as Phoebe and her mother Trudi create their latest labor of love.

“Right now it’s a really chaotic time for everybody and scary,” Trudi said. “And we thought that would help a little bit if a kid had to go into the hospital, that they weren’t seeing all these white masks.”

The mother and daughter, who have their own sewing business, are designing colorful, creative face mask covers that are placed over medical-grade surgical masks. They’re hoping nurses and medical staff can look less scary to children.

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“Every time you turn on the TV you see they need supplies, they need supplies, they need supplies," Trudi said. "So if we’re able to stretch that out until the supplies come about by making these masks so people can save the usage, we’re happy.”

Their inspiration came from Trudi’s sister, who is helping treat patients for the coronavirus.

“We’re hoping for any kind of smiles we can get right now,” Trudi said.

The mask covers are more than fun to look at. They say the covers help preserve surgical masks that many in the medical community are having to reuse because of a nationwide shortage.

“So with these they’re able to keep them clean and use them a little bit longer,” Trudi said.

They’ve made more than 150 mask covers to donate to Framingham Union Hospital. And with requests for more mask covers coming from across the country, they hope to keep sewing through the shortage.

If you would like to reach out to the Savas women or donate money or supplies, you can reach them on their sewing business website. Their Venmo contact is Trudi-erklin-savas.

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