As small businesses struggle in these uncertain times, some are taking their skills and helping the D.C. area meet immediate health supply needs. Normally, Dawn Crothers runs the event rentals company Something Vintage. However, Crothers said every spring event on the schedule is canceled, so she came up with an idea for another way they could use their logistics expertise. “It’s a lot of uncertainty. We just don’t know; the masks are at least a way to makes us feel positive, productive and putting good juju out into the universe and, hopefully, it makes a difference,” Crothers said. Crothers decided her company could start making masks for health care workers and organizing a group of people who could sew them. She then began calling hospitals in need and asked for donations on Instagram. “A lot of people do have material, but they don’t have the elastic needed. So we’re providing the material and the elastic … We have three or four drop-off locations right now. We have volunteers to take them to the hospitals,” Crothers said.
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Carine’s Bridal in D.C. is also making masks. Its founder, Carine Krawiec, has been sewing through the night, and is asking the community for supplies, including dishcloths, cotton blend shirts, vacuum cleaner bags, 100% cotton shirts and 3/8 elastic. The fundraiser posted online to purchase those items is already over $6,500 at the time of publication. Drop-off locations include:
- Carine’s Bridal, at 1623 Wisconsin Ave. Northwest in D.C.;
- Fluffy Thoughts, at 1320 Old Chain Bridge Road, in McLean, Virginia;
- Amanda’s Porch, at 662 Lake Varuna Mews, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
There are also efforts outside of mask-making. Compass Coffee and Republic Restoratives Distillery are producing 1,000 gallons each of hand sanitizer for D.C. government workers and first responders, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced during a press conference Monday.
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Republic Restoratives founder and owner Pia Carusone said she felt like she didn’t have a choice whether to help, knowing her business had the means. “The community is in need and we have the ingredients. We used guidance from the World Health Organization to find the right recipe and then we did some bench-scale testing before moving into mass production,” Carusone said.
