{"id":107954,"date":"2020-03-27T11:12:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T15:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=107954"},"modified":"2020-09-25T10:28:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T14:28:31","slug":"ucf-staffer-helps-coronavirus-relief-efforts-by-sewing-face-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-staffer-helps-coronavirus-relief-efforts-by-sewing-face-masks\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Staffer Helps Coronavirus Relief Efforts by Sewing Face Masks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much like civilian efforts to support the nation during times of war, people around the country are doing their part to help stop the spread of the coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the latest examples is sewing homemade face masks for first responders and medical personnel who are having trouble getting them because they are in short supply.<\/p>\n

Chris Dantes, a grants specialist in the University of Central Florida\u2019s Office of Research<\/a>, is one of the people who has taken up the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was reading about medical health professionals who are running out of protection for themselves, and that touched me because they are sacrificing their own health by taking care of others in need,\u201d Dantes says. \u201cThey need to protect themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dantes, who has been sewing for over 15 years and has worked at UCF for 26 years, has a personal connection to the medical profession.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom is a retired nurse, but she never encountered anything like this,\u201d she says. \u201cI have family in the medical profession as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The face masks she sews are 100 percent cotton and come from her ample stash of fabric.<\/p>\n