Relief Society in Action, May 5, 2020

Relief Society in Action highlights the volunteer service of Latter-day Saint women in their communities around the world. The Relief Society is the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has more than 7.1 million members and is the largest women’s organization in the world.

Relief Society Members Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Our name says 'Relief Society,' and this is an opportunity where we can live up to that name and give relief,” said Sister Sharon Eubank of the Relief Society general presidency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sewing masks for frontline health care workers and families in their communities during the global outbreak.

Downloadable video for media: B-Roll | SOTs

“I hope that they know how much they’re loved and cared for by our community and how much we appreciate them kind of being on the front lines of what’s going on,” said Eden Mathews, a local Relief Society president in West Jordan, Utah.

Project Protect is one of more than 110 projects in 57 countries to receive approval by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The goal is to make 5 million masks in five weeks for health care employees. Masks not needed in Utah will be donated to other hospital systems around the country.

Read more on Newsroom.

Latter-day Saint Women Make Cloth Masks for LA Inmates

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department posted a video on Twitter after receiving 6,000 cloth masks made by Relief Society sisters in the La Verne California Stake. The request was made by a commander in the Sheriff’s Department, who is also a member of the Latter-day Saint congregation.

Sister Sharon Eubank of the Relief Society general presidency shared the video on her Facebook page.

Relief Society Provides Handmade Masks in Mozambique

Relief Society sisters in Beira, Mozambique, sewed more than 6,000 masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Thursday, April 23, 2020.

During the worldwide fast on Good Friday, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Beira got the idea to help Mozambique’s government in its efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.

Latter-day Saint leaders distributed sewing kits to members of their congregation, asking each family to sew 100 masks. The kits included cotton cloth, scissors, thread, elastic and several sets of needles.

Several sisters who did not have a sewing machine at home sewed the masks by hand. 

Read more about the initiative on Newsroom.

Relief Society Sister’s Sew and Serve Group Donates Nearly 90,000 Masks

Erika Pike, a Relief Society sister in Avon, Indiana, is using her seamstress skills to sew masks for frontline health workers and first responders in Indiana.

Pike started the group Sew and Serve Indy, which has donated nearly 90,000 masks and surgical caps to several Indiana health care workers to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“I thought I knew 50 people who sewed,” Pike said during a local newscast. “And maybe we could make a thousand masks. That’s what I thought. ‘We could make a thousand masks. Wouldn’t that be so great?’ And look at us now.”

Sew and Serve Indy started as a small group on March 22, 2020, but now has nearly 6,000 volunteers throughout Indiana. The group has donated to more than 500 facilities in need of supplies.

Click here to read the full article.

Relief Society in Australia Sews 500 Masks for Donation

Pat Simonsen, a Relief Society sister in the Perth Australia Southern River Stake, sewed 500 masks to donate to the community. 

Simonsen assembled the masks in different sizes and patterns to make them more appealing for children. 

Other Relief Society sisters supported Simonsen by donating material, elastic and ribbon for her to use. 

Simonsen delivered the masks with a message, inviting the recipients to pay it forward by helping others in need. 

Read more on the Australian Newsroom website.

Sisters in Chile Donate Masks and Blankets

Latter-day Saints in Chile are doing their part to provide comfort to those in need during the global coronavirus outbreak.

Members of the Relief Society of the Los Plátanos neighborhood of Ñuñoa used their own resources to make 2,000 masks that were donated to the Cesfam de Macul and Ñuñoa.

In addition, the women in the Antofagasta Chile La Portada Stake came to the aid of some Bolivian citizens stranded in their area by donating 120 blankets. Other members are donating blood.

For information, visit the Chile Newsroom (Spanish).