In the News: APU Alumni and Staff Members Sew Masks for Hospitals

KTLA 5 News recently featured Azusa Pacific alumna Paige Bernal ’15, ’20, tutoring coordinator and graduate research assistant, as she sewed homemade masks for a local hospital during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

When Bernal heard hospitals were running low on protective gear, she began gathering supplies, sewing masks, and recruiting others to join, including Regina Bernal, administrative assistant in the Office of University Advancement, Tedd Szeto, PhD, executive director in the Academic Success Center, Nicole Kemenesi, laboratory technician in the Department of Biology, Anita Henck, PhD, dean in the School of Education, and Kathleen Bacer, EdD, chair in the Department of Advanced Studies.

Bernal chose to donate to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital because one of her former APU classmates, Alexis Barajas ’14, is now in her residency at the medical center. Together, the team of volunteers is gathering donations from the local community, assembling sewing kits for sewers to pick up and return, and sewing masks of their own. All masks will be dropped off at local hospitals where they will be sanitized before distribution.

If you would like to donate 100 percent cotton fabric, elastic, or thread, or make a monetary donation, please email [email protected].

Watch the KTLA Feature