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Airdrie group sews bags for nurses

Volunteers in Airdrie are supporting nurses by making them bags for their scrubs, which are meant to contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep their families safe.
BagsforNursesWeb
Grateful nurses hold up their hand-sewn bags, which they'll use to transport their scrubs home to be washed after a shift at the hospital. Photo Submitted/For Airdrie City View

In an effort to keep the families of nurses safe from COVID-19, volunteers in Airdrie are sewing bags for scrubs.

According to co-organizer Nicole Proseilo, each bag is 20 inches by 22 inches, with a drawstring. The bags are used by nurses to carry their scrubs to and from the hospital, in order to prevent them from coming into contact with the nurses’ families before they can be washed.

“It prevents any germs from being brought into the home by the nurses, so their families don’t get sick,” Proseilo said.

After a shift, the nurses bag their scrubs before returning home, and toss the whole bundle into the wash.

Proseilo is one of four women co-ordinating the initiative, alongside Janette Rees, Jolanda Galeano and Linda King. She got involved after seeing a Facebook post from Rees – who is also a nurse – requesting bags for nurses at Alberta Children’s Hospital. Proseilo got in touch, recruited friends and began sewing bags.

“I started making a Facebook group, just to make it so people could communicate for donations and things like that,” she said.

Originally, the group intended to sew 60 bags, but after a national news outlet picked up the story, Proseilo said things “snowballed.”

“I’m getting email requests for these bags for scrubs from Quebec [and] Ontario,” she said. “[People want] to set up groups to help out.”

So far, the group has made 160 bags, and they plan to make at least 500. The bags have been donated to Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre and Alberta Children’s Hospital, as well as nursing care homes.

“We’re having nurses reach out to us to ask for bags,” Proseilo said.

Each bag is a accompanied by a thank-you note in order to show the recipient nurse gratitude on behalf of the wider community. The nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic are the true, unsung heroes, Proseilo said.

“These people are fighting every day and seeing people die,” Proseilo said. “I think it’s important to share gratitude and thank people that are trying to help out.”

That demonstration of gratitude has been felt by the nurses, Proseilo said – she’s heard stories from other organizers of nurses tearing up upon receiving their bag and note.

With many people engaging in social distancing, confined to their homes and possibly recently unemployed, Proseilo said the volunteers who have taken up the cause are finding a sense of purpose in making the bags. Speaking for herself, she said the initiative has allowed her to feel like she’s making a contribution, however small, during the health crisis.

“I think that’s probably why we’re getting so many people reaching out, because they want that distraction, they want to feel like they’re contributing, because they’re not going to work,” she said. “People are interested in helping.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Proseilo said the group continues to look for volunteers.

“There is a huge need,” Proseilo said. “We’re looking for volunteers to help with sewing, creating thank-you notes in the bags and also donating washed fabric.”

To get involved, email the group at [email protected] or visit the Facebook page, Bags for the Front-lines (Calgary and Area).

Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick

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