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Making face masks to express yourself

A couple in Luzerne County are using masks to help people express themselves amid the coronavirus pandemic.

FORTY FORT, Pa. — Measure, sew, and ship - that's the motto at a home on Shoemaker Street in Forty Fort.

The second floor of the house was turned into a workshop to make, sell, and donate masks to those who need them.

The effort stemmed from Jennifer Coleman's love of crafting and a need she saw for masks in her community.

That's when Coleman and her boyfriend decided to create Jensorders, an online website for people to pick out and purchase masks.

While some people don't like wearing masks, Coleman says we are all thinking about this wrong.

"When you wake up in the morning, you pick your makeup out because you want to look nice. Guys pick how they're going to wear their beard or their hair or gel it," co-founder Jennifer Coleman said. "This was a new way to express yourself, and also the people that were against wearing a mask kind of get them to want to participate with it just because of the cool patterns and maybe matching with your outfit and kind of make it fun and more of a statement instead of that I must wear."

Co-founder Aaron Gregory says although it's scary, his and Coleman's motive was pure, which is to help those in need.

"You take some of your funds, own resources, your own time, and you devote to doing something for the greater good," said Gregory.

While many people are making and selling masks out of the comfort of their home, like Jensorders, the business owners say that during difficult times like these we all need to stick together.

"You're going to run into problems, you're going to run into unexpected things just like COVID-19, but what we all can agree on is that we all got put in this mess together and the only way out is together," said Coleman.

"We're trying to make something that's by design, I think a little on the dark side, very depressing, very dark and very sad and trying to make it uplifting," said Gregory.

To date, Jensorders has sold and shipped more than 250 masks, from California to people locally, and they say as long as there is a need, they will continue to keep making them.

Both Coleman and Gregory would like to thank their little heroes: Ava, Alivia, Monroe, Julia, Ethan, and Ryan.

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