Image via ABC13.com
During this tough time with the Coronavirus outbreak, there are some people who try to shed some positivity around their community. According to ABC13, the Texas City Eagle Scout, Austin Montalbano, sewed hundreds of face masks because he was just coming off a big injury. Austin is only a junior at Texas City high school and wanted to find a way to give back to the community. One of the Eagle Scout’s motto that Austin tries to live by is “do a good turn daily.” I find it super sweet that a young male like Austin wants to learn how to sew and try to make other people’s lives easier. It’s crazy how fast in a week, Austin and his mother, Pam Osteen, have donated 300 face masks to his local food bank, medical clinics, a dental clinic, a dialysis center, and friends and family.
I admire the dedication and motivation of Austin. It makes me want to learn how to make masks for other people that are in need. He is able to create a face mask in just ten minutes. To speed up the process, Austin says he works in stages by cutting all of the fabric then sewing. His mom helps out at the end with the elastic edge. I love the different fabrics and styles of face mask that Austin has created. It’s nice to see how supportive Pam is with helping out her son.
Austin’s goal is to produce at least 100 masks a day. Some of the materials are bought from Hobby Lobby or Walmart, but some people have been donating materials and supplies that they need to make the face masks. There are shortages for some of the materials to make face masks because a lot of people have been sewing face masks too. Austin said one of the biggest problems they’re running into is the amount of elastic they have. I love how he wants to continue to make face masks for as long as they need to during this virus in Texas.