Mask-making is a family affair

For Mandika Swartz – junior at University High School and son of Saint Agnes Bariatric Surgeon, Daniel Swartz, MD – simply relaxing around the house wasn’t an option during quarantine.

A dedicated tennis player and member of his high school’s first-place Academic Decathlon team, Mandika’s days are usually full of sports practice and rigorous studying. After his school closed its campus and the Academic Decathlon National Competition was cancelled, Mandika had free hours to fill and hard-earned scholarship money from earlier competitions.

Rather than spend the money on himself, he purchased a sewing machine, some fabric, elastic and thread, and sat down with his grandmother to learn how to sew cloth masks for health care workers at Saint Agnes.

"I’m really not the kind of person who can sit back and do nothing in this sort of time that we are living in," Mandika says. "I chose to undertake this project out of a compulsion to help my community, especially those workers risking their lives for us on a daily basis."

With the help of his family, friends and neighbors, Mandika set up shop in his family’s dining room, churning out 74 masks in just four days!

As production increased, more of his family and friends found seats around the work table doing everything from cutting the fabric down to size, ironing and supply procurement.

Mandika hopes to produce at least 2,000 masks over the course of his project. Thanks to generous donations from his Go Fund Me account, Mandika is able to procure the necessary materials to keep his operation in business.

"I will say, this goes beyond the money," Mandika says. "We as a community need to come together to work through this. It’s been neat to receive messages from people I haven’t met, from across the world, telling me how supportive they are and asking how they can help."

"This project has become bigger than just myself," Mandika adds. "I’m truly grateful for all the support from Saint Agnes, my donors, friends and family. But my most sincere gratitude goes out to those on the frontlines."

When so many things are out of our control during this pandemic, hearing Miracle Moments like this are certainly a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Mandika, for your generous spirit and for joining all of us at Saint Agnes as we take on COVID-19 – TOGETHER.