Coronavirus: Redondo Woman Making Masks For Military, Hospitals

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Daughters of the American Revolution members in the South Bay are dusting off their old sewing machines and creating thousands of masks for military service members and children in local hospitals in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The project launched about a month ago and more than 100,000 masks have been made since, according the organization.

Karin Amour lives in Redondo Beach and is in DAR's Point Vicente Chapter located in Palos Verdes. Much of her service work in the past has involved helping the military. Now, she's making masks for Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach and their organization just received a recent big request.

"The USO out in Ontario asked for 4,000 masks," Amour said.

"We do so much we don’t talk about, we keep it quiet and behind-the-scenes, but this is something we can talk about," Amour told Patch.

Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

When the pandemic began, the organization started getting requests from local police departments, local hospitals.

"Being part of the Daughters of the American Revolution, we have service projects that we work on and since there’s a pandemic and we’re all home we had to come up with something different to do."

The results have been impressive.

"It's been really surprising to see how many women pulled out their old sewing machines, some are antique," she said. "They’re sitting down and they’re producing volumes and volumes of these masks."

The project grew, and now families are helping out.

"All of a sudden we were doing 8,000 then 100,000 and it was like, 'Oh my God, this is huge.'"

There are overseas DAR chapters as well, which are also making face masks using the same pattern in Germany and Guam for military bases there.

"It’s just so inspiring to see these people, every age you can imagine," she said. "Some students are home with their mothers for the first time in years and learning how to sew. It feels like it’s something from WWII but it's actually what we needed."

Taking action and helping out from home gives people a sense of pride, she said. It's also part of what organization's history. In WWI, DAR helped to distribute chickens during a poultry shortage in France.

"It’s pretty amazing to see what we’ve done. And then you see the pictures."Amour said. "Now we got this request from the military, but they have over 130,000 active troops just in Southern California. Then they have the reservists and then they have the national guard. That goal of 4,000 is just for one base, so we’re going to be working pretty hard for a while," she said.

Not all the work is visible, but this is, especially during this unusual time.

"We give a lot of scholarships, we give student scholarships every year, and it’s real unfortunate because all of our ceremonies in the spring have to be cancelled so we just have to send the checks. It’s just not quite the same," she said.

Instead of focusing on the scholarships right now, their work is different. Some are even cooking, too.

"They’re also cooking for emergency rooms and ICU’s," Amour said. "It's trays of lasagna, stuff they can eat, they’re not getting breaks and they’re working 24/7."

"I have to brag about our California girls, we’re doing OK," she added.

The Daughters of the American Revolution is encouraging more people to get involved. You can download the pattern and send them to the USO. To learn more, check out the Daughters of the American Revolution website.

Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

See more:

• Coronavirus: Angelenos Urged To Resist County Beaches During Heat Wave
• Coronavirus Testing Available In The South Bay
• Coronavirus: Venice Beach Skate Park Filled With Sand