Couple has made and donated 500 masks thus far
By Heather Ruenz
Staff Writer
A few weeks ago, Kim Marden saw a piece on Good Morning, America about a shortage and need for facemasks due to the ever-growing Coronavirus pandemic.
That day, she and her husband, Mike, began making masks.
“It scared me. Our daughter, Mallerie, is an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) nurse in West Allis so this hits really close to home in that sense,” Kim said.
So far, they’ve made and donated 500 masks to numerous places including: 125 to the hospital their daughter works at, 30 to the City of Delavan Police Department, 50 to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, 30 to poll workers for the Town of Delavan, 20 each to hospice nurses in Racine and a hospital in Kenosha and 10 to a maternity ward in Washington.
“The rest have gone to nurses all over the country and people who are high risk,” Kim said.
They weren’t long into the project before it became apparent that there is a shortage of elastic. The good news is that they’ve come up with an alternative.
“Since elastic is so hard to come by we’ve come up with a better option that won’t breakdown the ears and makes for a better fit. We are using paracord now,” she said.
The mask-making project isn’t cheap and while she’s hesitant to ask for help, Kim said they would greatly appreciate donations to help cover the costs, much of it for postage to ship the masks around the country.
She’s a bartender so not currently working and her husband is not allowed to work overtime right now so money is tight.
“We’ve spent around $1,700 so far. We have gotten donations and it helps a ton but it’s not cheap. We haven’t charged anyone for the masks because something just doesn’t feel right about doing that,” Kim said.
She said they won’t stop making the masks until there’s no longer a need for them.
“I’ve never been one to sit around and not pitch in and help so this was easy for me to do. I’m glad I’m able to do this,” Kim said.
“I hope I’m making a difference and relieving some of the stress for those working so hard on the frontlines,” she added.
To make a donation, email mmarden2003@yahoo.com or contact Kim Marden via messenger through her Facebook page.
