Grade 8 student helps make headwear for workers

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

BROCK: While some people have been looking for things to do while in quarantine, a Beaverton Public School student has been using her time to help make a product that helps frontline workers. Grade 8 student Danielle Doucette has been working as a pattern cutter for community group Brock Sews, cutting fabric for the making of headwear. “I want to get involved with my community and I feel like this is the best way to do it. Even in rough times, you need to be able to help your community out, no matter who they are. We can get through these tough times together,” Ms. Doucette explained, in a press release sent out by the Durham District School Board (DDSB). According to the press release, in around three days, Ms. Doucette was “able to cut over 20 patterns.” Ms. Doucette learned about this initiative from her grandmother Gail Scruton. “It makes me feel good that I’m able to help other people,” she said. “I just wish there were more ways I could help and maybe other people could help too.” Brock Sews’ founder, Lore Grant, felt motivated to start this project after seeing a post on social media. “It started with a post I read on social media on March 28th that just broke my heart….a plea for help from a nurse whose ears were getting blistered and raw from wearing her mask with elastics, everyday, all day, during the Covid 19 Pandemic that has caught us totally off guard. I shared this photo and a post, on several sites, and residents throughout our community responded. I was getting messages from Quilters, Career Seamstresses, Hobby sewers and even residents who didn’t sew but wanted to help by donating fabric or buttons or whatever was needed, to aid in this Headwear for Healthcare initiative. Residents throughout Brock Township and across Canada have stepped up to the plate to make our Front Line Workers headbands and/or scrub caps and/or masks,” read a post on the group’s Facebook page. According to the DDSB, Brock Sews, so far, has “donated almost 2800 completed pieces to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the GTA.” For more information on this initiative, email granthouse@rogers.com, or call 705-426-1296.