“It was March 19 when costume designer Lauren Oppelt started to make masks. The coronavirus pandemic meant PPE workers putting themselves on the frontlines were at risk because they didn’t have enough protective gear.

“I got a call from a childhood friend who worked at Kaiser Permanente who told me she was reusing her N95 mask,” Oppelt says.

From there, her mask-making efforts have escalated. In just under a month, Oppelt has rallied actors, producers, dog owners, costume designers and seamstresses for the Mask Crusaders, an effort to make sure PPE workers have the protective gear they need.

“I’m working with the Motion Picture Costumers Local 705, the Costume Designer’s Guild, Local 44 and I.A.T.S.E. on this as well as Mask Crusaders and it’s become a collaborative union effort,” Oppelt explains. She is the chairperson of the mask-making committee.

To date, the Mask Crusaders have shipped out 9000 masks, and that number is constantly rising.”

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