Mountain Brook Student Sews Masks For Health Care Workers

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — As the coronavirus pandemic continues, one of the issues health care workers face is a lack of personal protective equipment, including masks to protect workers from the virus. And one Mountain Brook Elementary School student is doing her part to help.

When she is not immersed in her e-learning curriculum, fifth-grader Claire Leonard is using her time during the statewide stay-at-home order to sew masks for health care workers during the pandemic.

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"It makes me feel good because I’m doing my part and what we need to do in this crazy time," she said.

Claire grew up sewing by hand with her grandparents and learned how to use a sewing machine about a year ago. When her mother, Elena, a part-time physical therapist at a skilled nursing facility, found out that some of her coworkers needed masks, she knew where to turn.

"Some of the nurses there asked us for some, and then some of the therapists," Elena said. "And then some of their friends who were nurses at other hospitals started asking."

She started sewing cotton masks at her home about two weeks ago with the help of her mother and sister, Ann Elise, a seventh-grader at Mountain Brook Junior High. The two of them cut the fabric and then handed it off to Claire.

Thus far, she has sewn more than 50 protective masks for health care workers across the Birmingham metro area.

Mountain Brook Elementary Principal Ashley McCombs said that Claire exemplifies the school’s motto, which is to lead from the heart.

"When we see students take an initiative to do that and have servant leadership, it is a proud moment," McCombs said. "Because that’s our ultimate goal, is for them to do that independently."

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