Two area veterans are joining in the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Two local veterans are joining the fight trying to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Juana Shotwell and Ryan West are working together to produce masks and headbands for local hospitals and communities.

Shotwell is a professional seamstress and the owner of Uniquely Created 4U, a mobile service that provides alterations, curtains and upholstery. Founder Grace Caldwell and Shotwell started organizing The Joy Project on Monday, gathering leggings and using a team of cutters and seamstresses to create head bands that can hold face masks and protect the ears. Shotwell and a team of drivers deliver them to local hospitals. She is stationed outside the Lifepoint Church on South College Road.

Everyone working within The Joy Project are volunteers, and the headbands are free of charge.

It comes on the heels of the Center for Disease Control’s announcement Friday that it recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

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"I’ve been sewing since I was little. My grandma taught me," Shotwell said. "Right now we’re serving the people in New Hanover but we’re establishing an army in Brunswick County and Pender County. We’ll see how big we can take this."

West is an owner of Elite Textiles and Fabric Inc. in Wilmington. The local manufacturing company normally makes textiles, draperies and bedding for local design firms and hospitality services. West and his company have shifted gears to making masks with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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West is making his masks with 100 percent non-woven polypropylene, the same material used to make surgical masks. West is not related to The Joy Project, which focuses solely on the headband production, but his masks will also be sent to Shotwell. She will then disperse the products to her army of drivers so they can be delivered to the local hospitals.

Shotwell estimates they have about 1,500 headbands in the production line, with more coming in spurts as people continue to volunteer.

Shotwell and Caldwell are still looking for more help with The Joy Project. Sewers, cutters, delivery drivers and "generals" who can help expand the operation into neighboring counties are all in need. She will soon be opening a second base at the Lifepoint Church in Leland.

There’s a military theme within this entire project, and that just comes from an innate calling to help.

"My relationship with Juana began as local veterans," West said. "We always try to help when we can. The main question was do we have the material, and when we found that we have the same material made for surgical masks it was an easy decision to jump in."