With mask advisory expected, city and Maker's Market plan to organize volunteers to sew them for locals

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to recommend that Americans wear cloth masks in public to prevent spread of the coronavirus, and the City of Midway is preparing a government-and-volunteer effort to make masks.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told the City Council and the news media in an email Thursday that the city is partnering with Amy Bowman of Midway Maker’s Market, which will call for volunteers to sew "as many masks as possible for the general public to use. Anyone who can sew or has a sewing machine and is willing to help can call Amy at 859-533-0922."

Amy Bowman in Midway Maker's Market
(Messenger photo by Kennedy Sabharwal)

Vandegrift said the city will pay for the materials, "and Midway citizens can provide the skills and time to produce these masks. We will make sure all safety protocols are followed. I will let each of you know as we go what this spending looks like, but it won’t be exorbitant to provide the materials."

He said Bowman will provide mask kits to volunteers, who can sew them at home. "This will allow our citizens to participate, as they always love to, in a safe way that practices social distancing and helps to beat this thing," he said.

Vandegrift asked the six council members to :do what you can to recruit people who can sew. Obviously, we’ll work out guidelines as we go, but we need to know first how many potential volunteers we can get."

The mayor said his goal, "which I know may be lofty, is that we recruit enough volunteers that we can produce masks for every single resident in Midway. Perhaps from there we can work with other cities and Woodford County to start up more programs. That all remains to be seen. Details are still being worked out, and we’re not saying that these masks will only be for Midway citizens, but this is where we’re starting from."