Who are those masked ladies?
(L-R) Kitty Sachs, Cris Ryker, Janie Favreau
A group of Naples women, calling themselves “the masked friends of the food bank,” got together to make face masks to raise funds for Harry Chapin Food Bank staff and volunteers. Little did they know that their philanthropic idea, hatched while they were all home sheltering in place in the early days of the lockdown, would wind up raising more than $25,000 for the food bank.
The group, which now numbers five, includes Cris Ryker, Janie Favreau and Kitty Sachs, Lynz Muller and Tammy Schulz. The masks cost $10, or $20 for an embroidered mask.
Cris thinks the reason they have been so successful is that they chose the food bank as the beneficiary of
(L-R) Kitty Sachs, Cris Ryker
their efforts. People have given above and beyond, she said, including one person who donated $1,000 for 10 masks and another who donated $500 for four masks. Then there are those like the elderly lady who gave her $27 for two masks, instead of $20. She wanted to give more to the food bank but it was all she could afford, Cris said. “It just makes you cry.”
Her group will still take orders for masks. Email her at crisryker@aol.com.