There’s a quote from Fred Rogers — more formally, Mr. Rogers — circulating in these troubled times dominated by the coronavirus.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Many of those helpers are at the hospitals, taking care of COVID-19 patients, risking getting the virus themselves in the process.
So then, who’s helping the helpers?

Enter Chris Reighard, who is the long-time office manager for Draper Law Office in downtown Kissimmee, but in her off time she’s working hard to make hair caps for local medical professionals.

Chris’ original plan was to use her sewing and creative talents to make masks to help our healthcare professionals stay safe, the most common ask of nurses, doctors and ICU practitioners. But, since this virus can live in hair like on many other surfaces, caps are in high demand as well. And Reighard has been making them as fast as her hands can move, which isn’t as fast as the past thanks to some rheumatoid arthritis. A first batch of caps has already been donated to Advent Health in  Kissimmee. Unfortunately the need is greater than the ability to create these caps.

That’s Chris Reighard’s selfless story of how she is making a positive difference. And here’s where you come in, how you can help who’s helping the helpers.

According to Reighard’s daughter Angie Redman of Cobblestones Restaurant in St. Cloud, cutting the patterns is the hardest part for her mom, so people can help with doing the cutting. The fabric and material has been donated from families at St. Cloud Veterinary Center, enough to make hundreds of caps.

“We have the patterns here, they just need to be cut,” Redman said. “And if anyone can sew and help my mom make them faster, that’d be great, too.”

Those who are interested can contact Redman at her St. Cloud eatery, Cobblestone Courtyard, or message her or Cobblestone on Facebook.
None of us know how long we’ll be dealing with COVID-19 in our community, and how long our healthcare professionals will need our help, but we do know that we can all be a part of making a positive difference and be a part of making sure that the coronavirus is something we see in our rear view mirror.