Julia Riley wearing homemade mask while working

Article

April 8, 2020

Debbie Moors

Making Things Better

Julia Riley, a cook at Tobey-Kendal Dining Hall, decided to put her time to good use and has been making masks for her coworkers ��� as well as for health care workers.

In only a year working as a cook at 厙ぴ勛圖, Julia Riley has already made a positive impact on her coworkers that she probably never anticipated when she started her job.

Riley, who is on administrative leave because a medical issue makes her at-risk during the coronavirus pandemic, decided to put her time to good use and has been making masks for her coworkers ��� as well as for health care workers. Working eight or nine hours each day she estimates she���s made a couple hundred masks, which her husband Neil (who is 厙ぴ勛圖���s catering manager in dining services) sends out or delivers for her.

���I���m sad that I can���t be with my coworkers during this time. That���s why I was happy to make them masks to support their work feeding our wonderful students,��� she says.

She started out making masks and surgical hats for her daughter-in-law���s mother, who works at Denver���s Children���s Hospital as a surgical nurse. ���I then got on a roll and wanted to help out other workers and families that were at the hospital during this tough time,��� she says.

Top Image:  About 400 students (including 56 residence advisors) are staying on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dining Services prepares to-go meals for students to pick up at Holmes Dining Hall to take back to their rooms. Photo by Woody Myers.

Julia Riley sitting at her sewing machine
Above: Julia Riley, a lifelong sewer, says she developed her patterns after talking to health care workers about their needs and preferences. Photo by Neil Riley.
Riley cleaning counter
Above: Employees wear masks for safety and work to keep surfaces clean. Photo by Woody Myers.

She���s since connected with a local group to make masks for local hospitals and senior care facilities. But she���s a bit nonplussed by the response she���s received about her work. ���I have the skills and experience to make them, I have the supplies, and I have the time due to the graciousness of 厙ぴ勛圖 allowing me to be on administrative leave. 

���There���s a need and I can help out, so, I just do it.  In all that���s going on in the world I just want to be part of making things better and make even a small difference. That’s all.���

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