Sewing Angels: A story about a sewing company helping healthcare workers

What does a sewing company and a home care agency have in common? On the surface, nothing comes to mind, but dig a little deeper and you will find two sisters each in their own unique and separate businesses that overlapped in a very special way.

Arlene and her husband, Bill Petersen, own Visiting Angels of South Elgin. Their business has been providing caregiving services to older adults in their private homes for over 17 years. Lynda Remmers, and her husband Duane, own two sewing machine dealerships called Sewing Concepts, in Carpentersville and Woodstock. 

Visiting Angels, like other health care companies, started to feel the pressure of a shortage of personal protective equipment because of the novel coronavirus. Local suppliers were running out of inventory of disposable masks and the wait time for restocking was an estimated 4 to 6 months.

Arlene decided to reach out to her sister Lynda to ask for help in making cloth masks. Lynda wasted no time in contacting her network of sewing friends and asking for their donation of time and talent.

“Initially I did not think there was much that our business could do during this crisis but all of a sudden we went from making quilts and bags to now making cloth face masks,” said Remmers.

Lynda and Duane generously donated fabric and supplies from their two stores, while many volunteers also donated their extra supplies from their personal home inventory. Remmers said she was overwhelmed with the response from the local sewing community that was ready and willing to help.

“I did it because I love my sister and she asked for help. She never asks for help, and I was happy to do whatever she needed,” said Remmers.

Within a week’s time Visiting Angels received hundreds of cloths face masks and was quickly able to get them to their caregivers.

“We have never had a shortage of personal protective equipment before,” said Petersen. “All I did was make one call to my sister and what felt like an army of talented people agreed to help us. It is not lost on me how many hours these volunteers have spent making these masks for us. This is a crisis averted for our business and we could not be more thankful.” 

Visiting Angels of South Elgin has been recognized as providing a high level of quality, professionalism, and expertise in home care by being honored with the Leaders in Excellence Award for eight consecutive years. We are a local home care agency you can trust. Please know that we are an essential service which means we are open and available to help you or a loved one. Our caregivers have received specific COVID-19 training and are following CDC Guidelines.

With support from local businesses like Sewing Concepts, we believe many businesses can get through this difficult time together. Taking a small step like making a phone call or going on social media and looking for groups who are rallying together to help can make all the difference in the world. If you are interested in Visiting Angels visit our website for more information or call (847) 429-0100.