Leftover fabric from the AIDS Quilt will be used to make face masks for health care professionals working in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported People.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, which had been on display in Atlanta with the NAMES Project until last year, was announced to be moving to San Francisco’s National AIDS Memorial. However, plans for the massive display have been put on hold due to the coronavirus.
In the meantime, Gert McMullin, who created the quilt’s first panels and now works for the National AIDS Memorial, is using her sewing machine again—this time to address a different crisis.
“During the AIDS crisis, I could go and do something,” McMullin told People. “But now, I can’t. I’m not used to sitting around and not helping people.”
The masks, which are being made from leftover fabric of the quilt, will be used at facilities run by Bay Area Community Services, which serves homeless people and those struggling with addiction. The face masks will be used by both employees and residents.