Marshalltown Mask-maker Puts Her Sewing Skills to Good Use to Benefit The Salvation Army
As a longtime crafter, Dee Bosley knows her way around a sewing machine, so when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in mid-March, she realized she could put her pile of extra fabric and her sewing skills to good use.
Dee, who manages The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Marshalltown, has sewn more than 800 fabric masks over the last four months. She started making masks to pass the time when the store was closed in the early weeks of the pandemic, first sewing masks for family members with health issues and then turning her attention to making masks for her staff at the Thrift Store and for volunteers at the corps. Later she made and mailed 80 masks to The Salvation Army’s Western Division headquarters in Omaha for staff who returned to the office in June.
“Dee saw a need and recognized she had the skills to help meet that need,” said Capt. Pam Kasten of The Salvation Army of Marshalltown.
Even after the Thrift Store reopened and her regular managerial duties resumed, Dee continued sewing in the evenings and on her day off. After donating dozens of her homemade masks to the local hospital, she decided to sell the remainder online for $5 apiece, donating $3 of the proceeds to The Salvation Army and using the remaining $2 to purchase additional fabric, elastic and other sewing supplies.
To date, Dee has donated more than $1,400 to The Salvation Army. “I still have a supply of masks in stock,” she said, “so if we need more this fall, they’re ready to go.