Harvey the Label makes free face masks for essential workers

harvey the label makes face masks

It feels like every day we’re waking up to a new way of living. With Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases growing and restrictions in Australia becoming more severe by the day, it seems everywhere we look it’s bad news upon bad news. But underneath all that, there are so many people coming together to do great things. One of those people is Mim Harvey of eponymous Harvey the Label, who after her beloved boutique was forced to close to help flatten the curve, took the initiative to start sewing face masks for essential workers.

Echoing the cries of small business owners around Australia (and most likely the world), Mim was devastated by the closure of her Rundle Street boutique. After taking some time to come to terms with the current situation, she’s bounced back more determined than ever to do her part. Sewing each mask by hand and using her own fabric, within the first day she’s made and donated a massive 40 masks.

Mim said on her initial Instagram post, ‘We have closed our Rundle St store, instead of sitting home feeling devastated I am committing my extra time to making masks for anyone that is still working with the public. Essential workers such as delivery people, food workers, face to face customer service people (like the brilliant staff at Spotlight this morning) or any medical workers who want to brighten their patients days!’

harvey the label face mask go fund me

Unfortunately though, the demand for necessities like face masks is growing every day, and the supply can’t match it. Mim is now out of fabric, but is hoping to raise some money via a GoFundMe to buy the material and binding she needs to keep making the masks. She’s already had 110 requests for masks (and counting), from medical workers, grocery store assistants, teachers and everyone in-between, and is hoping to keep donating her time to helping these essential workers.

A local Adelaide doctor has said, ‘At the moment we are in one of the highest risk professions as the greatest concentration of the virus is nose and mouth and surgeries that aerosolise these regions are high risk. We are having to reuse masks so that we can keep our supply for longer.’

‘I think it’s really great all the companies jumping in to help. It makes us feel very looked after.’

If you’re an essential worker and you want to get your hands on one of these face masks, you can reach out to Mim via the Harvey the Label Facebook page. If you’re not an essential worker but you’d still like a mask (and who wouldn’t, they’re as cute as they are practical), you can still message the page and make a small $10 donation. The proceeds will go towards buying more materials to make extra masks.

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