When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Austin, Garza Independence High School Principal Linda Webb decided to act.

“I was watching the news one night, and they were talking about the need for masks. I knew that AISD workers were going out and feeding our kids, and I was worried,” Webb said. “I picked up the phone and called my quilting group, and I told them what was happening. We all immediately got to work.”

Webb had been a part of a quilting group for years and saw this as an opportunity to help others by using their sewing skills to make cloth masks. At first, the quilting group began to make masks for just AISD food workers, but they quickly realized that there were more people in the community in need.

“I worked for hours with my group,” she said. “We got an assembly line going, and we just got it done while also practicing social distancing. It was just a bunch of us women working together.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines stating that cloth masks could help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the city of Austin has made them a requirement for essential workers.

After learning about the quilting group’s work, AISD Chief Business and Operations Officer Nicole Conley asked if Webb and her group could make several hundred more.

“I let the need be known and they all jumped in. Everyone was willing to work long hours and help out,” Webb said. “It was just a bunch of people working together for these people that were going out to feed our kids.”

The group went from making 40 masks to several hundred in weeks. Masks began to be distributed all over the community, including a veterans hospital, a retirement home as well as to first responders and medical staff.  

“If you put a bunch of women together, they will get it done,” Webb said. “These food workers are important, and we need them to know that they are important to us.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin ISD students, parents, staff and more have looked for ways to help their schools and community. 

“I am the principal, but I am also somebody who cares,” Webb said. “It is important to know that principals, janitors, teachers and everyone else is doing their part. Whether it is scrubbing toilets or sitting behind the sewing machine, that’s what we are going to do to keep our people safe.”