It started with a mask.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) left frontline workers, community clinics, and families without the protection they needed. I started sewing reusable masks using extra fabric I had at home, just trying to help where I could. I didn’t expect it to go beyond a few local donations. But word spread. Requests grew. And our mission did too.
The Guilford Mask Project started as a way to fill an urgent need, but it became a long-term commitment to community-led health, creative outreach, and meeting people where they are.
Problem
Unmet needs in familiar places.
At the start of the pandemic, gaps in access to essential health materials became impossible to ignore. We heard from clinics that had no PPE, schools where students lacked masks, and shelters struggling without sanitation supplies. Even in our own neighborhood, people were reusing disposable masks for weeks. We needed a fast, flexible response that could scale.
Process
Build locally, impact globally.
We started as a one-person sewing effort and grew into a grassroots network of 10 volunteers. I coordinated everything, sourcing materials, sewing and packaging, managing outreach, and organizing donations.
We partnered with communities across the U.S. and abroad, including schools, hospitals, refugee shelters, and senior care homes. What began with fabric masks expanded to:
- Reusable menstrual pad kits for students and shelters without regular access
- Chemo caps for patients undergoing cancer treatment
- Scrub caps for community clinic workers
We tailored designs to each community, adding filter pockets, adjusting sizes, and creating clear masks to support communication in speech therapy programs.
30+ conversations later
We began with questions.
What were people missing?
Where were the gaps in access?
How could design meet those needs without adding complexity?
Through conversations with students, healthcare workers, and caregivers, we identified what mattered most: accessibility, clarity, and comfort.
The result: simple, replicable designs created with direct input from the people they were meant to support.
Partners & Reach
We collaborated with organizations, including:
Adventist Health Bakersfield
Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
Aveanna Healthcare
Brookings Health System
CABS Home Care
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Chickasaw Nation
Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
Collective Medicine in Durango
Connelly Hospitality House
Elders Journey Home Care
Everyday Action
Family Medicine Residency
Forsyth County Schools
Gaylord Hospital
Greensboro Senior Living Community at Gardengate
Guilford County Schools
Hablee Home Care and Services LLC
Human Services Berrien County Foster Care
International Child Care
Janian Medical Care
Local Schools
Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital
Mescalero Apache Tribe
Metro Health – University of Michigan Health
Michigan Department of Health
Monroe Community Hospital
Mujer Fuerza y Coraje
Oglala Lakota Task Force
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Pass It On Trust Uganda (PIOTU)
Quapaw Nation in Oklahoma
Samos Refugee Camp
San Juan Regional Medical Center
Santa Maria Hostel
Ship-Hoops & Akoyikoyi School
St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids
Standing Rock Reservation
Tusekwile Imiti Ikula Foundation School
Results
18,000+ reusable items donated
40+ community and global partners
5 continents reached
What I learned
The Guilford Mask Project wasn’t just a response to a crisis. It taught me:
- Design works best when it’s informed by real people. Listening first helped us create tools that were actually useful and used.
- Creativity can solve urgent public health challenges. Simple ideas, like reusable kits or clear masks, had a real impact when built around actual needs.
- Equity begins with access. The most lasting solutions came from community input and collaboration, not assumptions.
These lessons continue to shape how I approach healthcare and every space I enter.
Jana Yan 