Whidbey DIYers is a community group that got together in March of 2019 with one mission in mind, helping get cloth face masks to community members during a PPE shortage.
In the last 5 months, our volunteers have provided over 27,000 masks to our local community with 100% donated supplies, and other than a few fundraisers, they have all been given to the community free of charge. Our current goal is to make 10,000 masks for kids and staff at Whidbey Island schools from Clinton to Oak Harbor, as well as those at local childcare facilities. We have applied for a few grants but unfortunately have not heard back so we decided it was time to try something else.
A $20 donation after fees will fund supplies for nearly 28 masks!!! That is enough for a whole class. Even a $5 donation makes a huge difference!
To make 10,000 masks for school-age kids (3-18) we need 1,400 yards of cotton fabric. This is by our biggest need and the hardest to get right now. An AMAZING local online store owner has offered to order it for us at their cost pricing, making it cheaper than Wal-mart and better quality! It is $3.55 a yard with free shipping. 140 10-yard bolts would be $5,680.
The other thing we need is 136 yards of the knit fabric that is soft and stretchy that we use for elastic ties. It is more comfortable than elastic and the same price per mask or even cheaper in the end. We order from PurpleSeamstress Fabrics in LA and it arrives in a few days. It is $6.50 a yard plus shipping. Our last order of 68 yards with shipping (half) was $499.65, so all of it would be $999.30.
Everything would be $6,679.40. We set a goal of $7,000 because we know there will be payment processing fees. We could get at least 10,000 masks from this, likely many more. The total cost per mask would be $0.67 or less. With the solids, we can use up a ton of other prints that have been donated so it will honestly stretch a lot farther than just 10,000.
We have started using materials donated for general project masks as some of our schools are going back very soon. Even 1/3 of our goal will have a HUGE impact. We are a very thrifty group and can make our resources stretch far.
If we surpass our $7,000 goal for the above-listed supplies, additional funds would be used to purchase additional needed ‘fun’ fabric for general masks. We would be supporting three VERY generous local small fabric stores who have already donated hundreds of yards EACH to our community.
Whidbey DIYers Admin Team
Financial Accountability:
We are not currently, and do not intend to become a non-profit. That being said due to our logistic admin’s background in running non-profits we have worked hard to be a very open book about where resources and donations go. For this reason, we felt having a go fund me that everyone can see how much comes in, then we send the money directly to the small business owner and we will post the receipts in our public group for accountability.
We have a few locals who have wanted to make a larger donation via paper check to avoid the fees. If you are interested in doing this we can have your write the check directly to the business order for us.
Contact us for more information on how to do so and when they can be dropped off at the dropbox.
To those who have previously donated, those who are now, or those who do in the future we would like to say THANK YOU. Not just for the group, but on behalf of all our volunteers and the community members who have received our masks.