Facemasks at the ready

WITH everyone being required to wear face coverings in shops from Friday, Dilton Marsh resident, Kelly Lewis, has already made around 400 facemasks to raise funds for charity.

By selling the handmade face masks from outside her home, Kelly has raised over £400 for a cancer counselling charity. With the new regulations on face masks coming into force, she expects to be even more in demand. The money raised from Kelly’s initiative is being donated to We Hear You (WHY), the Frome-based cancer counselling charity that offers support to people affected by cancer locally.

Kelly told White Horse News, “I used to work for We Hear You (WHY) and I still volunteer for them now – and I know that they have been struggling since the pandemic started, so I thought this was the perfect way to help them.

“During lockdown I have been working from home, and I felt the need to do something during my spare time – I noticed a similar project in Warminster, and as I have been sewing for 10 years, I had fabric lying around that was perfect to make masks.

“It has gone really well so far. My mum has helped me out – and now she has set up a similar project where she lives. But with the new law coming this week, I am expecting it to get busier – so if people would like to help, donations of fabric, elastic, and cotton thread would be appreciated – men’s shirts make great face masks!”

Kelly sells her hand made masks from a stall outside her home on Petticoat Lane, Dilton Marsh – from 10am until she sells out.

Kelly said, “I post updates on community Facebook pages – but normally people can find the stall quite easily at the weekend on Petticoat Lane. WHY have also asked me to provide masks to sell at The WHY Gallery, Stony Street, Frome.”

The suggested donation for a face mask is £3, which can be made when picking up a face mask, or online via Kelly’s Go Fund Me page: www.gofundme.com/f/kelly039s-campaign-for-we-hear-you