Mask crusaders from Shropshire raise more than £7,000 for Midlands Air Ambulance
Two friends who thought it would be a great fundraising idea to make and sell masks have broken through the £7,000 mark for the Midlands Air Ambulance.
What started out as a chat over a cup of coffee after the first lockdown is still going strong for Suzanne Harrison, who lives in Stableford near Bridgnorth, and Maureen Warrilow, from Sutton Hills in Telford. The air ambulance is based in Cosford and it sometimes clatters above Suzanne's home.
"It's amazing and everyone is amazed that we have managed to raise so much money," said Suzanne. "We are definitely going to keep going until we get to £10,000 and then we will review it." They originally set a target of £100 but soon blew that out of the water.
Retired Suzanne and Maureen have set up something of a production line, and even use a family sewing machine that had been used to run a business in 1934 to produce masks in three sizes.
As demand increased, Suzanne’s modern sewing machine couldn’t take the strain and instead had to be replaced by her mother’s modified Singer machine, gifted on her 21st birthday in 1934. Suzanne's mum used to run a business making children’s clothes.
Shops throughout Bridgnorth agreed to stock their masks for free and Suzanne said it couldn’t have been done without their help.
The pair purchase supplies from Allsorts in Madeley and Creative Outlet in Bridgnorth and sell their masks for £4 a piece at Rudge Heath Stores on the A454, Worfield Stores, Breeze Farm on the B4176, Keith Alderson Butchers and Parker Taylor, both in Bridgnorth, Apley farm shop, and Great Hay Golf and Country Club.
