Kyleigh Craddock Completes Mask Project, Sends Thanks To Community (05/12/20)

(Photos courtesy of Kyleigh) Above: Kyleigh sitting among the final 150 masks

Kyleigh Craddock put the finishing touches on her great project of making protective masks for people in the Clarion area, for use during the Covid-19 pandemic, on Saturday, April 9th. Kyleigh, with her mother Kendra, used up all of the donated material to make the final 150 masks, 130 of which were placed on the big pine tree at Veterans’ Park across from the Courthouse in Clarion.

This was the second consecutive weekend that she placed the masks, which were free to anyone who needed them and coincided with the opening of the Farmers’ Market. Kyleigh made the masks in conjunction with her Sage Soldier Headbands business and donated several hundred to various healthcare providers and other individuals.

The project comes to a halt, as Kyleigh, a Private First Class in the Army National Guard, will be heading to Fort Lee, Virginia, for Advanced Individual Training shortly.

Kyleigh shares some thoughts on this fine project as well as thanks for those who made this it possible:

I have made over 700 masks in total since April 2nd. On Saturday May 9th, I put 130 masks in the tree at 8 am and they were all taken by 3:30 that day.

The masks I donated went to many different places, the Clarion Hospital, to pharmacists, nurses, members of my church, local businesses, my family, friends and any other person who asked me to make them masks.

I would like to thank everyone who donated to this project, because without these people I would have never been able to make this many masks.

I would also like to thank my mother for helping me every step of the way with this project, my whole family for supporting me through this journey, Christy Logue and the commissioners for giving me the ability to put the masks in the tree. I decided to put them in the tree on the same day as the Farmers’ Market so people might see them from across the street and come pick one up if they need it.

I feel extremely blessed to serve my community in this way. I just want everyone to stay safe and the spread of this virus to stop.

I will be leaving for training in two weeks and I’ll be gone for eight weeks. I can’t wait to see where this chapter of my life takes me. I also cannot wait to be a nurse and help people every single day, that is my dream: to lead a life of service to others.

(Thank you to Kyleigh and all the others who helped with this great project!!!! And all the best to Kyleigh as she heads out for training!!!!)