Monroeville woman makes masks for any family who needs them

With masks being required to go into many businesses, and students and teachers mandated to wear face coverings when coming back to school during the covid-19 pandemic, many people are doing their part to ensure those needs are covered.

Valerie Corbin and her Monroeville family are no exception.

Corbin, who is laid off from her job at the Monroeville Public Library, has been sewing masks since a friend asked her for some when the pandemic broke out in March.

“Her husband’s a doctor, and they were extremely scared that their doctor’s office wouldn’t have any masks to wear,” Corbin said. “After that, it just (steamrolled) from there, and I thought of this idea.”

The idea was to offer free masks from her Penn View Drive home. A white and purple sign sits by the curb with the message “Please Take a Mask! Protect Everyone Around You!”

The washable masks come in various sizes for children and adults. They have three layers made from 100% cotton. A small metallic clip is in the nose section to help prevent the mask from falling down and glasses from fogging up. Adjustable elastic bands go around the ears or on the back of the head.

Masks are ironed and washed before being placed into ziplock bags for distribution. They come in various designs including animal faces, graphics, messages and more.

Corbin’s husband of 24 years, Harland, helps deliver the masks. Their sons, Kaeden, 14, and Owen, 19, have assisted in acquiring materials and helping around the house when their mother is sewing and embroidering.

The family produced 80 masks in one weekend. It normally takes Corbin a little more than two days to make 30 masks on her own.

“It’s good to be helping out,” Harland Corbin said.

Having comfortable, breathable masks is important for the Corbin family. Valerie and Kaeden both have asthma.

Resident Jennifer Walker also has asthma and had difficulty finding masks that worked for her, until she found Corbin via the Facebook group Monroeville Community Cares Too.

Walker said Corbin’s masks work great for her and her 5-year-old twins, Jude and Genevieve. The stay-at-home mom picked up a set of masks from Corbin.

“Hers have been extremely easy to breathe with,” Walker said. “I don’t know why it’s different, but they work really well for me. … I’ve been glad we’ve been able to go places. Just to be able to go to church or whatever, we need the masks. Depending on what happens with school, they’ll need masks. We wanted to make sure we had enough to not be washing masks every single day.”

Corbin said her grandmother, Ruth Enderlein, taught her how to sew. Those skills came in handy during the mid-1990s when Corbin studied theater at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. There, she made multiple costumes and other pieces for numerous shows.

People have donated money, fabric and other materials for Corbin’s efforts.

She said she used a lot of her unemployment compensation toward making masks.

Her masks have made it as far as Australia, California, West Virginia and Ontario, Canada.

Corbin said she draws inspiration from Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon developed during World War II used to represent women who worked in factories and shipyards. Many of them produced munitions and war supplies.

One of the original “Rosie the Riveters,” Mae Krier, went from being a Boeing factory worker back then to making mask now.

Corbin has made more than 500 masks since the pandemic hit. She knows there are others in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities who make masks for people, and she’s happy to do her part.

“There’s a lot of people doing this, and there’s still so much need,” Corbin said. “If I’m helping even one person not get sick, it’s worth it. I hope it gets to the point where we don’t need masks.”

Another group inspired by Rosie the Riveter and making masks in the Pittsburgh area is “Sewing for Angels.”

They formed in March and have sewn and delivered at least 8,000 masks to people in Western Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. More information about them is available on their Facebook page.

Folks who wish to support Corbin by buying some of her masks can do so via her Etsy page.