Stitching, Sewing, Sending Out Hope: Princeton Junior Sally Ruybalid Crafts Masks for Local Hospitals, Businesses, Community Members

It began with an email that many students remember.“I am just as concerned about COVID-19 as the rest of you,” wrote Princeton student Sally Ruybalid '21 in a March 30th email to undergraduate student listservs, with the subject line “Trying to Help Out.” “If you need a mask, I am making and giving away reusable fabric masks.”In the two months since her message, the CDC’s guidelines have been updated to recommend face coverings for all public outings, Governor Murphy’s statewide shelter-in-place order has remained in effect, and students have adjusted to virtual learning to finish up the semester.Amid all of this, Ruybalid has continued to sew these masks in her dorm: delivering them for free not only to students, but also to essential workers and hospitals. She has sewn over 300 masks to date.Ruybalid, though, does much more than just sew. She pays for the fabric and elastic needed to craft the masks herself, and she also covers shipping costs to hospitals. She asks only that students—if they are able—consider a donation of one dollar per mask.She began her project in early March, when she saw an advertisement about making and donating masks to hospitals on a craft store website. Not everyone knows how to sew, she said, and since masks are a vital piece of protective gear needed by both essential workers and the general public, her volunteer mask making service was born.She first called local hospitals in Trenton and Philadelphia to ask if they needed donations of handmade masks.The initial process was a learning curve, since she had few instructions to work with.“[Mask making] was slow at first because I was figuring out the best methods,” she said. “But with dedicated sewing practice each day, I got faster.”As the weeks went by, Ruybalid continued to make and deliver masks to hospitals, while reaching out to grocery stores, NJ transit services, and Princeton students and families, as well. Her masks became more widely sought-after.“Some local grocery stores have requested dozens, whereas corporate grocery stores have been against them. The hospitals are asking for hundreds,” she stated. “The student pull was not so much [at the beginning], but since CDC standards have changed, so has the demand.”An aspect of mask making that is important to Ruybalid is contactless delivery. She drops off masks to students on campus in sealed plastic bags outside their dorm rooms, and sends masks to hospitals in sealed bags through the mail.  “I worry about those who have immune system issues: they need to be taken care of," she said. “And if I get sick, I endanger others and will no longer be able to make masks.”Following her deliveries, not all organizations respond—"I know they’re busy!”—but others, like Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, write her thank you emails.Even though classes have now finished and the summer has begun, Ruybalid still plans to spend her days sewing masks. “I am still going until we beat this thing,” she noted in an April 20th WilsonWire undergraduate email update. She emphasized her commitment: “I will make masks until I am told to no longer make them.” If you are in need of a mask, contact Sally Ruybalid '21 at this link. If you would like to make a donation to her cause, please Venmo Justin-Son-9d. Featured photo credit: Jeongmin "JM" Cho '21