Valentina Spadafora has become a bit of an expert in making face masks amid the coronavirus outbreak, and she’s using the skill to benefit the Hamilton YWCA, while also taking comfort in the task.

The quality assurance manager at Fortinos Pane Fresco immigrated to Canada from Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

“Having my family, my mother and my dad in Italy with this situation is not nice mentally, so making them and busying myself has helped me in this tough moment,” she says of her new hobby.

Spadafora, who can sew a mask in nine minutes, quickly agreed to help the YWCA when contacted by friend Marisa Mariella.

The women are part of the Donnici Social Club’s campaign to get others to join the effort, known as #sewgratefulYWCAHamilton.

Spadafora recently donated her first 50 masks, having initially perfected her craft by making the protective equipment for her workplace until a supplier was secured, then for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Mariella says she’s less of a pro, but can now turn out a mask in 13 minutes, using instructions they’ve provided on the social club’s website.

The Stoney Creek resident says the campaign is timely because public health officials are now advising people to wear masks as an extra safeguard against the spread of coronavirus.

She says she didn’t hesitate to answer an appeal for masks by the YWCA, which is offering tax receipts for the cost of materials using in making them.

“There is no better organization to support,” says Mariella, a guidance counsellor at Cathedral High School. “The YWCA pays such an integral role in helping to support women in our community of all backgrounds and circumstances.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/Donnici2016/.