Sydney making masks makes a difference

In these trying times, it is hard to come by a person who is willing to help others. Sydney Driskell, a senior who attends Cape Coral High School has been making masks for friends, family, and fellow CCHS students.

This project started in June when Sydney was just making masks so her family could be safe at both work and school.

“Sydney is such a kind-hearted person, it’s no surprise that she came up with such an ambitious project to not only help the community but to make the masks fashionable and fun,” said Bethany Warren, an IB senior at Cape High.

Multiple stores are manipulating the customers’ fear in order to get them to buy their overpriced products during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a serious problem that multiple media outlets have picked up on.

The issue quickly caught Driskell’s attention. After she saw that masks were being overpriced in stores, she decided she wanted to make her own affordable mask business. “I just want to be able to provide cheap, good quality, stylish masks to as many people as possible”, said Driskell. “From there, I decided to donate a mask for every mask purchased, with donations hopefully going to title one schools.”

Driskell takes a lot of time out of her day to make masks, using the highest quality fabric and most comfortable string she can find.  “Cutting and sewing take about 20 minutes per mask,” she said.  This means to make only five masks, it will take almost two hours, but her friends and family were able to help her throughout the process. 

As for the quality of the product, it has been spoken of very highly.  Warren said that Driskell “takes her time with each mask to make sure they are made to perfection. The stitch work is flawless and the mask fits just right.”

Cape High senior Shane Spotz bought one mask and couldn’t get enough. “Her masks are amazing,” Spotz said.

Driskell has been working tirelessly, turning the project from a small gift to her family to a full-fledged business keeping students safe. 

So far, she has not had time to advertise her business because of school work and is “limiting mask sales and keeping quiet about it so I can focus on making masks to donate,” she said. However, she hopes to continue working on her business throughout the year, and continuing to help out her community during these troubling times.