Coronavirus In Maryland: CASA Of Baltimore County, Volunteers Providing Free Masks To Children In Foster Care
TOWSON, MD. (WJZ) — CASA of Baltimore County is partnering with a network of more than 30 volunteer sewists to provide over 350 children in foster families with free fabric masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
The foster children who have Court-Appointed Special Advocates through CASA of Baltimore County will receive masks as well as any other children living in the homes.
The child-sized masks range in sizes to fit two-year-olds through teenagers, CASA said. The fabrics will have "colorful designs" ranging from toy trains to polka dots to graphic abstract motifs, they said.
The masks are made of double layers of tightly woven, 100 percent cotton fabric approved by local medical facilities.
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A CASA advocate, Dr. Carol Newill, coordinated the project through Domesticity, a local fabric shop on Harford Road. The owner, Christina Brunyate, with her husband Peyton, have created a volunteer network that has made nearly 17,000 free cotton masks for hospitals and nursing homes in the Baltimore area this spring.
In early June, Christina posted the request for child-sized masks on domesticitystudio.com and her Facebook page. This appeal resulted in about 30 mask- makers pivoting quickly from making adult-sized masks to making the smaller versions.
By the end of June, they had dropped off 353 completed masks at the porch of the shop at 4313 Harford Rd. in Lauraville, a trendy area of small businesses and well-tended homes and gardens, CASA said.
CASA advocates will deliver the masks to each of their assigned children and the other children in foster homes.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
