Masks of Hope

    04.28.20 | Articles Resources Missions Coronavirus by Mary Johnson

    LuLa Roe Masks of Hope

    In May of 2018, Jennifer and Rusty English sent me an email saying they had a large amount of clothing to donate, as they were no longer going to be selling LuLa Roe clothing. As a Mission/Outreach Pastor, I get plenty of requests, but this one seemed quite different. I made an appointment with the Englishes to look at what they had.

       There was a basement room filled with merchandise: several clothing racks of dresses, skirts, blouses, many large duffel bags of leggings ranging from toddler size 2 to women’s 2X—even two mannequins. All LuLa Roe clothing is made from fine, soft, stretchy, vibrantly-colored fabric. The Englishes agreed that such a sizable donation would fit best as a fundraiser, so I connected them with House of Hope Maryland founder Kathy Hambrecht. House of Hope Maryland is a non-profit organization that serves at-risk teens currently through a day school program, with the long-term goal of establishing a residential house. Counseling and parenting support are major focuses of this program.

        We had two congregants, Carol Miller and Kathy Myers, that were eager to volunteer. They offered to store and organize the clothes, and to brainstorm on how we could use them to support House of Hope.

         I met with Olney Antique Villages' Past and Present store manager Sarah Formacelli, also an Oakdale Church congregant. Sarah said that three ladies in the village ran a clothing shop called Pinwheel Consignments. Manager Cathy Lewis looked through the Englishes clothing and offered to consign them in a week-long sale. Oakdale Communications Director Tasha Mitchell suggested we call it a “LuLa Roe pop-up shop,” and the date was set for July 10, 2019.



         Oakdale and others advertised the sale, including the Olney Golds Gym (where some of clothing and the mannequins had originated). It was a successful endeavor, but afterward we still had much clothing leftover. House of Hope managed to continue providing clothing from the Englishes stock as adjuncts to other fundraisers, and Pinwheel continued to consign remaining clothes. 

        Fast-forward to April of 2020 and the pandemic Covid-19 crisis. Sarah Formachelli has always strived to be a community helper, and we have certainly seen this to be the case in many ways. As her store was forced to close during the crisis, she had been seeking ways to help in the newly-afforded spare time. After happening across a set of directions on how to make leggings into protective masks, she collected all remaining at the store and set to work. She and her daughters (with the assistance of some neighbors: Sandy, Avery, and Mia Prudenti) made masks until they were out of material. Sarah contacted Cathy Lewis to inquire how these masks could best serve House of Hope’s cause. 

       Cathy took pictures and wrote up a promotion to be posted on House of Hope Maryland’s Facebook page. Every last mask wound up selling, either for $5 or a charitable donation. The proceeds totaled a stunning $1200. 

    Reflecting back, it’s easy to see that God's hand had been at work throughout this sequence of fortuitous events from the very start, and we are grateful for His provision. Our joyful thanks to God, and to all that selflessly offered their time, donations, and efforts—their love, quite simply—in this trying time.