According to WHBQ-TV, the siblings have their own businesses and are working on separate projects, but they have the same goal in mind – to help those in need right now.
WHBQ spoke with the two about how they're putting their talents to good use.The siblings, Ruth James and Rueben Hull, haven't seen each other since the pandemic started, but they have the same common interest of helping people.
“We just have to try to keep that social distancing and stay apart,” James said.
James is a quilter, and Hull likes to build gadgets with his homemade 3D printer.
So, when COVID-19 hit, they took on separate missions to help during the PPE shortage.
“I have never made a face mask in my life before this, but I have the tools to do it,” James said. “I felt really out of control, and by making these face masks, [it] gave me a little more sense of control, and I am contributing in some way.”
James, a wife and stay-at-home mom, has made more than 400 masks and donated about one-third of them to health care workers at Baptist Memorial Hospital.
In his free time, Hull uses his homemade machines to print 3D parts for face shields. Rueben said so far, more than 1,000 of his masks have been donated to the Memphis Medical Society.
“It takes about 30 minutes apiece,” he said. “I hope that someone else would do the same for me, and we are all in this together. If we’re not in this together, then what is a community if we don’t?"
In a time where separation is encouraged, these two are showing us how we can still rely on one another during this pandemic.
“I think our parents worked very hard to raise us,” said James, "that if someone needs help, you help them if you have the means.”
James and Hull both said their biggest challenges are sometimes getting the supplies they need, such as fabric or parts, because it can take a while for materials that come from overseas to arrive.
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