Helping ease the shortage of face masks

FRESNO, Calif.– As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to engulf the United States, a national shortage of N-95 masks had prompted a creative solution on D.I.Y versions.

Amandalynn Rivera and Blanca Ruiz both produce homemade masks. Rivera was laid off because of the virus. She decided to make masks in her free time.

“I started to sell it to people and then a lot more people started to ask me like ‘You make this for me? Oh, I need it for my job. I need it for here,'” Rivera said.

Ruiz grew up in Visalia, but she now lives in Miami, Florida. She says she saw a need to help the homeless and started handing out masks.

” A lot of people are helping out the nurses, and that is great, but on my way to grocery shopping I see that homeless people don’t have face masks,” Ruiz said.

By using leftover fabric, with each mask she’s helping herself feel productive. But, more importantly, she feels a calling to her Miami community by driving around giving masks and food to the homeless.

“We’ll drive until we see people who need things. Also, we see moms with kids at the bus stop and we will give it to them, too. Yeah, we just stick it out the window and they get it,” Ruiz said.

That feeling is priceless. Every dollar that she collects makes a difference.

“I’ve raised $250, I believe, and I am soo excited to start buying more things because at first I was just using what I could get,” Ruiz said.

This pandemic is showing Ruiz and Rivera, and many others around the country, that human kindness is very important in times of need.

“If you can help, I would just say just do it. Just because it is in need as of right now,” Rivera said.

If you are still not able to purchase a face mask, you can contact Rivera and Ruiz on social media.