Perfect Ten Providing an Essential Accessory

It seems that cloth masks will be a critical part of everyone's wardrobe for the foreseeable future. Since the beginning of April, a team of three at Perfect Ten Afterschool Program has made more than 2,500 face masks and distributed them for free throughout Columbia County, and their sewing operation continues to meet the ongoing demand.

"We started making masks for the girls and their families, but within days we were fielding requests from other organizations as well as hundreds of individuals," said Perfect Ten Director Tina Dipper. "From the start, we wanted to offer them free of charge, because we are committed to helping the Hudson community."

Whitney Wilkins, Perfect Ten program coordinator and a skilled sewer, opened her Warren Street shop in order to scale up the mask-making operation. The three-person team of Wilkins, Dipper, and Perfect Ten board member Africia Heiderhoff has been working seven days a week to meet the demand. They have provided masks for City of Hudson employees, teachers, bus drivers, and janitors at the Hudson City School District, and the Greenport Rescue Squad. They have also supplied masks to the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement for distribution to client families, to the Columbia County jail, and to Solaris at Camphill Hudson. Churchtown Dairy and Talbott & Arding, longtime supporters of Perfect Ten, have distributed masks to their customers and staff. Hundreds of masks have been given to individuals in the community.

Contributions of materials have been received from JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store and from Quadrille Fabrics. 

Perfect Ten is committed to continue sewing as long as their supplies last. To support Perfect Ten's mask-making effort, click here. For orders and inquiries, text Tina Dipper at 518 755-3295 or Whitney Wilkins at 516 318-4087 or message PerfectTenHudson on Instagram @perfecttenhudson.