Dragons Produce DIY Medical Masks for Local Facilities

In times like the current events that are going on, there are always those who step up when a need is seen. There are members of the Dragon Community doing great acts to serve others during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Two Dragon staff members have stepped up and are using their talents outside of the classroom or the campus clinic to help fill a huge need in the medical world. Carroll Middle School nurse Susan Bonczyk and Eubanks Intermediate music teacher, Megan Von Dreau are working daily to create masks for medical workers throughout DFW.

Throughout the medical world, there has been a need for additional masks for nurses and doctors to use during their normal work hours. As the number of patients continues to grow in the area hospitals, the number of available masks has gone down.

Megan Von Dreau and colleagues have been producing masks for a local rehabilitation center.

These DIY masks are not a full substitute for the recommended N95 Mask, but these DIY masks allow for medical officials to use the N95 in the situations where they are most needed.

Bonczyk saw this opportunity to serve others by using a skill she was already very familiar with.

“So a little fun fact that most people probably don’t know about me….beyond the fact I have a Bachelors’s degree in Nursing, I also have a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State in Apparel Design and Production,” Bonczyk said. “I have always had a passion for sewing and creating.  I heard there was a need for masks and I wanted to bless others with a gift God has blessed me.”

Von Dreau is working with others in her neighborhood to produce masks for a local rehabilitation center. The group has produced over 50 masks since they began production. One of the residents in the neighborhood works for the rehabilitation center. Von Dreau also sent a few masks to a close friend that lives in New York, one of the hardest-hit states in the United States.

“I have the time, skills and equipment. It’s the least I could do right now,” Von Dreau said. “My neighbor has been going to work at 4 a.m. and then coming home and making masks. I can’t get her to stop and relax, so there is no way I’m going to stop either.”

If you are interested in how you can help with this project, even if sewing is not in your skillset, Boncyzk is more than excited to help others find a way to serve. For more information on how you can get plugged in and assist in this effort, you can email Susan Boncyzk at susan.boncyzk@southlakecarroll.edu.