But now she’s outfitting humans — with face masks to protect one another from the coronavirus.
When people buy a mask, she “recycles” the money to buy supplies to make masks to donate to local hospitals or to ship to nurses around the country who have sent her requests by social media. She’s also donating to elderly people who cannot leave their apartments, and to cancer patients.
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“The situation right now that we’re all living in is a nightmare. It’s horrific, it’s horrible,” she told TODAY. “We’re all so stressed and I am just trying to use what I know and what I do to try to bring a little entertainment so people, even for five seconds, they can ease their minds and maybe for that moment, they can relax.”
Nieves, who owns Ada Nieves for Pets, will spend 14-16 hours at a time sewing masks to fill orders. Her 86-year-old mom keeps her company and helps a little by cutting thread.For a dog who loves to tear apart stuffed animals, make a durable activity ball with a Hol-ee rubber ball, scraps of fabric, and treats.
So far, she’s shipped more than 500 masks and has another 200 ready to go.
“We’re all in this together,” she said. “I think that’s the key to this: Together, every little thing that we do together, it helps.”