Stay informed, stay safe, stay home, but keep helping.
That's one longtime Prince George community member's new motto.
When Judy Wiebe and her husband returned from a two-month volunteer mission in Belize in February, the world was starting to change.
Just a couple of weeks later, social distancing and self-isolation against the coronavirus pandemic was a reality.
Listening to all the reports of personal protective equipment shortages on the frontlines in hospitals, Wiebe, who often sews, immediately reached out to Northern Health, healthcare workers and anyone else who was looking for ways to protect themselves from this new threat.
Early on Wiebe was told Northern Health wasn't able to accept donations of homemade masks but when she found a community of midwives who could use some, that's when she started making the first of almost 100 masks.
Wiebe had the fabric stored away for about a decade after she thought a venture into creating funky aprons could be successful. Once she realized the cost of the extra-thick cotton and the labour involved didn't match anyone's idea of what they would want to spend on a handmade apron, she tucked the fabric away for future use.
She never dreamed that material would be useful to protect against a deadly virus that has circled the globe.
Wiebe started creating the pleated and the fitted masks once she did the research.
As she read more information, she realized it wasn't so much about the size and shape of the mask.
"The bigger question was the fabric content - with a lining, without a lining, with elastic around the ears, elastic around the head - there were just so many different options," Wiebe said.
"So what I ended up doing was I made up one or two of each to see what fit the most people so that's how I decided on the pattern that I like the best."
Wiebe has started ordering more materials online, including melt blown, which offers an extra non-woven protective layer inside the mask.
As time has passed there's one thing that's become clear.
"Something is better than nothing," Wiebe said.
The talented seamstress only recently started to charge a $5 fee for some of the masks she's made because she would like to cover her costs of the material. Most of her masks have been donations.
She just got a special request to make masks for a wedding party and she's happy to make them, as long as there aren't too many orders at once.
Wiebe and her family have always been community minded and giving back has become part of her retirement lifestyle with one major motivator in mind.
In 2009, Wiebe, her husband Ben and son Arron were in a horrific car crash near Mount Robson that saw an oncoming car spin out of control into their lane. The impact instantly killed the two people in the oncoming car and severely injured the three Wiebe family members in their vehicle. Judy's injuries were the most serious and changed her way of life permanently.
Wiebe is best known in Prince George for her stunning singing voice that shone in musical theatre roles in Nunsense and Gypsy. After the accident, Wiebe spent five months in hospital recovering from injuries including a broken neck, major concussion, punctured lungs and broken ribs. She learned to accept her new life that no longer included singing or performing on stage. Despite all the challenges one thing is clear.
"We felt so incredibly supported when we went through our crisis and now it's a personal goal to give back - it's the whole pay if forward thing," Wiebe said. "I'm just trying to be supportive while self isolating. I just want to help where I can."
