Coronavirus News: 3 generations of Long Island seamstresses band together to sew masks for donation

Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Long Island dress shop sews masks for donation
Long Island's Tina Di Martina Designs has traded dressmaking for mask sewing during the coronavirus pandemic.

HAUPPAUGE, New York (WABC) -- [url HREF="https://tinadimartinadesigns.com/?fbclid=IwAR0SHLuTHUpQvvXJhFc7Jwu8-Gd0C39FVUCvIC6alPtc4PrsJBYA_Ach27w" TARGET="" REL=""]Tina Di Martina Designs[/url] has been a staple on Long Island for over 45 years and now they're giving back to the community by using their skills to sew masks.[br /][br /]Initially, their business had to shut down - due to the coronavirus quarantine order - since they were a non-essential business. However, the owner, Lisa Fraumeni and her daughter, Angela, decided to re-open to sew as many masks as they could to donate workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.[br /][Ads /][br /]"We're not making a living doing this, but just the appreciation that people are showing us, it gets us so excited and motivated to keep going," said Angela. "If you asked us two weeks ago, what we were going to be doing, I would've said 'oh making more dresses', but no... now we're at a thousand and thirty-something masks."[br /][br /]Not only are Lisa and Angela sewing masks, but even their 84-year-old retired grandma, Tina, sews masks from home.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/society/how-to-make-homemade-face-masks/6042993/" TARGET="" REL=""]Related: How to make a homemade face mask[/url][/b][br /][br /]"It's great that she can do it, thank God she's in great shape," said Lisa. "She's got a lot of energy."[br /][br /]At first, it was the three of them sewing away, but now the mask mission has brought back three of their seamstresses and five volunteers. To make sure each exchange follows the social distance measures, they have a sanitized table where each mask donation is left for pick up.[br /][br /]"I would say to people who are out of work right now, try to keep busy and try to make yourself essential," said Angela. "My hope and my mother's hope is that we can give back as much as we can to the community and that when this is over, people will keep us in mind and every small business in mind."[br /][br /]---------[br /][br /][b]Contact Community Journalist Alex Ciccarone[/b][br /][b][url HREF=" https://abc7ny.com/submit-news-tips-to-alex-ciccarone/5305408/" TARGET="" REL=""]Submit a tip to Alex[/url][/b][br /][b][url HREF="https://www.facebook.com/AlexABC7NY/" TARGET="https://www.facebook.com/AlexABC7NY/" REL=""]Follow Alex on Facebook[/url][/b][br /][b][url HREF="https://twitter.com/AlexABC7NY" TARGET="https://twitter.com/AlexABC7NY" REL=""]Follow @Alexabc7NY on Twitter[/url][/b][br /][b][url HREF="https://www.instagram.com/alexabc7ny/" TARGET="https://www.instagram.com/alexabc7ny/" REL=""]Follow @Alexabc7NY on Instagram[/url][/b][br /][Ads /][br /]url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/coronavirus/" TARGET="" REL=""][h3]MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE[/h3][/url][br /][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/coronavirus-faq-everything-you-need-to-know/6032157/" TARGET="" REL=""]Frequently Asked Questions[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/where-to-get-tested-for-covid-19-in-ny-nj-ct/6035410/" TARGET="" REL=""]Where are the testing centers[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/education/what-to-do-with-the-kids--here-are-free-educational-resources/6035120/" TARGET="" REL=""]Free educational resources for parents and children[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/society/victims-of-covid-19-and-businesses-need-help-heres-what-you-can-do/6032337/" TARGET="" REL=""]How you can help victims of coronavirus[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/coronavirus-updates-what-we-know-about-covid-19/5988128/" TARGET="" REL=""]Where is COVID-19 now? and other resources[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/33-confirmed-covid-19-cases-in-ny;-4000-people-under-quarantine/5989875/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus news and live updates in New York[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/live-nj-officials-give-coronavirus-update-/5990838/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus news and live updates in New Jersey[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/ct-hospital-employee-who-is-ny-state-resident-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/5991616/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus news and live updates in Connecticut [/url][br /][Ads /][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/nyc-coronavirus-cases-approach-4000-with-22-dead-/6021383/" TARGET="" REL=""]New York City updates[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/li-coronavirus-cases-surge-past-600-including-police-officer/6021346/" TARGET="" REL=""]Long Island updates[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/society/videos-show-how-coronavirus-is-leaving-ghost-towns-in-its-path/6018672/" TARGET="" REL=""]How coronavirus is leaving ghost towns in its path[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/coronavirus-are-your-hands-clean-a-black-light-experiment/6004151/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus prevention: how clean are your hands?[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/social-distancing-what-is-it-and-how-it-slows-spread-of-coronavirus/6009818/" TARGET="" REL=""]Social distancing: What is it and how does it stop the spread of coronavirus?[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/coronavirus-closures-mcdonalds-seating-areas-playplaces-to-close/6015525/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus closures and cancelations[/url][br /][url HREF="https://abc7ny.com/health/coronavirus-tips-what-americans-need-to-know/5971803/" TARGET="" REL=""]Coronavirus tips: What Americans need to know[/url][br /][br /][b]Related Information[/b][br /][url HREF="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html" TARGET="_blank" REL="nofollow"]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus[/url]