A woman in Lisbon, Iowa has taken the fictional work of Shel Silverstein and turned it into real life.
Deb Siggins began making cloth masks for healthcare workers when her local hospital was experiencing a shortage as COVID-19 struck their town. Siggins made 100 masks to donate, but as more were requested from her family and friends, she has since upped the ante.
In order to follow social distancing measures, however, she decided to hang the handmade masks on a tree in the neighborhood so that passerby could grab them as needed.
Siggins made a Facebook post about her 'Giving Tree' and says her masks have been a hit within her community.
“It was really cool to see people driving up, grabbing a mask and leaving … It’s been a hit,” Siggins told Good Morning America. “I’m a giver, not a taker, so I feel really good.”
Siggins has been busy replenishing the tree daily, as it holds about 30 masks at a time. She says most of them are gone by the end of each day and she has been making new masks from new patterns to keep the tree stocked up.
She says that she plans to keep up with the demand until the pandemic finally comes to an end.