Carla Hayes
GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (May 21, 2020) – It takes a special person to focus on solutions and opportunities during difficult times. Luckily for Grimes County, Carla Hayes is one of those people.
Hayes, who serves as a family and community health extension agent in the Cooperative Extension Program at Prairie View A&M University, knew her networks were going to have more limited resources than most during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cooperative Extension Program is a network of professional educators and more than 4,000 trained volunteers. They deliver practical, research-based knowledge to small farm producers, families, aspiring entrepreneurs, and youth in 35 counties across Texas.
Serving Grimes County, Hayes plans and delivers research-based family-focused programs to underserved clientele in areas such as health and well-being, parenting, life skills, and nutrition.
When stay-home orders went into effect in March, Hayes looked into ways that she could help her networks. As stores began running out of face masks, she researched how to make her own.
“I began making face masks because I knew my family and friends still had to work, and I wanted them to be as safe as possible,” Hayes said. “I started making them and donating them to family, friends, coworkers, health care facilities, daycares, and other local businesses.”
While an avid do-it-yourself (DIY) project enthusiast, Hayes wasn’t familiar with face mask construction.
“I watched several DIY tutorials to learn how to cut out the right measurements and create face masks for both adults and children,” she said. “Instead of sewing the mask, I used fabric glue to fold up the sides and hold the elastic together.”
To date, she has made more than 150 face masks, which can be hand-washed and reused, in a variety of colors, textures, and patterns.
“After I donated my initial batches to family and friends, I would get more requests from their friends, family, and coworkers, which is how I began making so many,” Hayes said. “My masks have been sent all over Texas, and even Georgia, to people working in health facilities, daycares, processing plants, and school districts.”
Hayes makes face masks every day of the week to keep up with demand and plans to continue making more masks to donate to those in need.
“Volunteering and donating during this time is extremely important,” she said. “Not only are you helping to keep others safe and protected, but you also seize an opportunity to learn how to be creative and make a difference in your community.”
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By Kendall Hebert