By Amanda Hayes
As longtime members of St. Illa Baptist Church in Douglas, Angie Atkinson and her family take to heart the scriptures that read, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” Matthew 25:40 (NIV), and “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” Colossians 3:23 (NIV).
At a very young age, Angie Atkinson learned from her mother, Myrtle Chaney, how to sew. Although a nearly forgotten craft by younger generations, sewing has been a family affair for Angie, Myrtle, and Angie’s two daughters, Alana, and Leana. Together, they have spent many years doing alterations, embroidery, and sewing quilts as a precious family pastime.
When Angie learned of the need of healthcare workers for face masks to protect them amid the COVID-19 outbreak, she did not hesitate to leap into action, enlisting her mother and daughters to assist. Angie shared her first fabric mask creations on Facebook, and immediately began to receive requests from all over the country. Alana and Leana, both busy students, learned to balance schoolwork with their mask-making efforts.
Realizing that she may need additional resources to meet the demand, Myrtle brought over her sewing machine to help keep up with the number of requests they were receiving. The ladies would each take turns cutting fabric, cutting elastic, and sewing the face masks together.
The fabric masks that Angie and company have sewn can be used alone, or as covers for the N95 masks used by healthcare workers on the front lines of battling the coronavirus pandemic. Making this effort a true family endeavor, Angie’s husband David, and son, Logan, quickly reacted to the need for deliveries of the masks. David and Logan offered curbside deliveries, following social distancing guidelines from local and CDC authorities. Additionally, when friends, family and neighbors heard of the efforts of the Atkinson family, donations of fabric and elastic poured in.
To date, their face masks have been donated to more than ninety different organizations in Georgia as well as several other states. Organizations receiving the donations have included hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, dentist’s offices, schools, churches, and numerous additional essential workers, even Sailors at the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Reserve Component Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
Vince Lombardi once said, “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work” (www.brainyquote.com). We appreciate the individual commitment of each one of the Atkinson family members. Together, their group effort found a way to meet a need of the COVID-19 outbreak. May we all be inspired as individuals to do the same.