Modern-day Rosies
JoAnn Gregoli always thought it was a happy coincidence that she was connected to Rosie the Riveter through her son-in-law’s grandmother Mary Doyle Keefe, who modeled for Norman Rockwell’s iconic 1943 painting. Little did JoAnn know, she herself would inspire a movement of modern-day Rosies.
A resident of Sparta, NJ, JoAnn has two children working on the front lines and learned from her daughter, a physician assistant, that healthcare workers lacked basic personal protective equipment (PPE) and weren’t prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. As an international event planner and owner of Elegant Occasions, JoAnn’s first instinct was to start immediately organizing and mobilizing others to help make masks and then transport them to the hospitals where they were most needed. Because PPE is in such short supply, the hand-sewn masks are being used by doctors and nurses treating non-COVID-19 patients and as covers for N95 masks to increase their longevity.
Photo: The New York Times
Calling all Sewing Angels
JoAnn shared a GoFundMe page on Facebook, and the movement quickly took off. Her call to action inspired friends including her former client Christine Preston of Madison, NJ, who shared it on her own community pages. In less than a week, the two women had enlisted more than 150 volunteers to sew masks, cut fabric, and donate supplies of all kinds. The movement now includes more than 475 volunteers and has spread across the country.
Our impact
To date, Sewing Angels volunteers have made more than 65,000 masks and 20,000 scrub caps that have been distributed to more than 150 hospitals, medical facilities, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, shelters, community organizations and nonprofit organizations across the country. See our list below.
Who we are supporting
Andover Subacute Center
Archangel Raphael Mission (ARM)
Atlantic Mobile Health
Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute
Bayada Home Healthcare
Bayshore Medical Center (Hackensack)
Bergen County Dialysis
Boston Children’s Hospital
Bridges Outreach (Summit & Newark)
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Brightview Senior Living and Hospice
Camden School Lunch Program
Campassus Hospice
Center for Great Expectations
Celebration Nursing Home (Florida)
Chatham EMS Squad
Chatham Boro Fire Department
Cheshire Home
Chilton Medical Center
Childrens Hospital Colorado (Colorado Springs)
Childrens Hospital Colorado (Aurora)
Christ Hospital (Jersey City)
City of Orange Community Services
Clara Maass Hospital (Belleville)
Coney Island Hospital (Brooklyn)
Communities in Cooperation (Newark & Roselle)
Community Coordinated Childcare (Union City)
Convent Avenue Baptist Church (NYC)
Cooper Hospital Camden
Daughters of Israel Home
Dover General (ER)
Daytop Crawford House
Duke University Hospital (Durham, NC)
Edison Community Center (Edison)
Elizabeth Coalition
Elizabethport Presbyterian Center
Family Promise
Franklin Lab Corp (Long Valley)
Garden Terrace Nursing Home
Genesis Center (Providence, RI)
Green Village Fire Department
Hackensack Hospital
Harbor
Hoboken General
Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck)
In Your Hands Foundation
Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges
JFK Medical Center
Jersey City Medical Center
Johns Hopkins
Joi’s Angels (East Orange)
Josephine’s Place : A Space for Women
Juniper Village Assisted Living
Kankakee County Training Center
Karen Ann Quinlan Center (Andover)
Kingwood Medical Center (Houston)
Lehigh Valley Medical Center (PA)
Lyons VA Hospital
Madison Animal Hospital
Madison Pharmacy
Madison Seniors
Madison Senior Housing
Madison Senior Shopping Network
Massachusetts General Hospital
Meals for Chatham Students in Need
Meals for Madison Students in Need
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Mercy Hospital (Pittsburgh)
Ministerio el Sol (Jersey City)
Morristown Medical Center
Mt. Sinai Hospital (NYC)
Navajo Nation
New Bridge Medical Center
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
Newton Medical Center
New Jersey Black Women Physicians Group
NJ Citizen Action (Newark)
New York University Hospital (NYC)
Norwescap
NYU Langone (NYC)
NYU School of Medicine
Ocean Inc.
Overlook Medical Center
Pillar Continuum
Pine Acres Nursing Home
Prevention Links (Elizabeth)
Pride Center of New Jersey
Raritan Bay Medical Center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Santa Clarita Hospital
Santa Clara County Medical Association
Sophia Seminary – Ukrainian Cultural Center
St. Barnabas Hospital
St. Clare’s Hospital (Denville)
St. Elizabeth’s Convent
St. Joseph’s Hospital (Patterson)
Strengthen Our Sisters Women’s Shelter
Summit Medical Group
Summit Medical Group Cancer Center
Sunrise House (Newton)
Sunrise Assisted Living
Tom’s River Community Medical Center
Trinitas Medical Center
United Way Central Jersey – Elijah’s Promise
University Hospital (Newark)
University Hospital (Jersey City)
USS Nimitz 50 black masks
Yale New Haven
VA NY Harbor Healthcare System
Valley Hospital (Ridgewood)
Villa Walsh Sisters
Walgreen’s Pharmacy (Madison)
Women Rising
Zufall Health